The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of
Siena
Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.
The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...
to
Monte Amiata
Mount Amiata is the largest of the lava domes in the Amiata lava dome complex located about 20 km northwest of Lake Bolsena in the southern Tuscany region of Italy. It is located within the provinces of Grosseto and Siena.
Geology
Mount Am ...
. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by picturesque towns and villages such as
Pienza
Pienza () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, in the historical region of Val d'Orcia. Situated between the towns of Montepulciano and Montalcino, it is considered the "touchstone of Renaissance urbanism".
In 1996, UNESCO d ...
(rebuilt as an "
ideal town
An ideal city is the concept of a plan for a city that has been conceived in accordance with a particular rational or moral objective.
Concept
The "ideal" nature of such a city may encompass the moral, spiritual and juridical qualities of ci ...
" in the 15th century under the patronage of
Pope Pius II
Pope Pius II ( la, Pius PP. II, it, Pio II), born Enea Silvio Bartolomeo Piccolomini ( la, Aeneas Silvius Bartholomeus, links=no; 18 October 1405 – 14 August 1464), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 August ...
),
Radicofani
Radicofani () is a ''comune'' in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located in the natural park of Val d'Orcia about southeast of Florence and about southeast of Siena.
Radicofani borders the following municipalities: Ab ...
(home to the notorious brigand-hero
Ghino di Tacco
Ghinotto di Tacco, called Ghino, was an outlaw and a popular hero in thirteenth century Italy. He was born in the latter half of the thirteenth century in La Fratta, which is now part of Sinalunga in the Province of Siena. Born the son of a Ghibe ...
) and
Montalcino
Montalcino is a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy.
The town is located to the west of Pienza, close to the Crete Senesi in Val d'Orcia. It is from Siena, from Florence and from Pisa. Monte Amiata is ...
(the
Brunello di Montalcino is counted among the most prestigious of Italian wines). Its landscape has been depicted in works of art from
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
painting to modern photography.
World Heritage
The Val d'Orcia was added to the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
list of
World Heritage Sites
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...
in 2004.
Orcia DOC
Within the Val d'Orcia is a strip of land following the Orcia river between the DOCG zones of
Brunello di Montalcino and
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano is a red wine with a Denominazione di Origine Controllata e Garantita status produced in the vineyards surrounding the town of Montepulciano, Italy. The wine is made primarily from the Sangiovese grape varietal (know ...
. Here
Sangiovese
Sangiovese (, also , , ) is a red Italian wine grape variety that derives its name from the Latin ''sanguis Jovis'', "the blood of Jupiter". Though it is the grape of most of central Italy from Romagna down to Lazio (the most widespread grape i ...
and
Trebbiano
Trebbiano is an Italian wine grape, one of the most widely planted grape varieties in the world. It gives good yields, but tends to yield undistinguished wine. It can be fresh and fruity, but does not keep long. Also known as ugni blanc, it h ...
-based wines are produced under the Orcia ''
Denominazione di origine controllata
The following four classifications of wine constitute the Italian system of labelling and legally protecting Italian wine:
* ''Denominazione di origine'' (DO, rarely used; ; English: “designation of origin”),
* ''Indicazione geografica tipic ...
'' (DOC) status.
The DOC red wine is composed of at least 60 percent Sangiovese with other local varieties, such as
Abrusco
Abrusco is a red Italian wine grape variety grown primarily in the Tuscany region where it is a minor blending component permitted in the wines of Chianti. The grape has long history in the region and was mentioned in 1600, under its synonyms Ab ...
, permitted to fill in the remainder of the blend. The dry white wine and ''
Vin Santo
Vin Santo ("holy wine") is a style of Italian dessert wine. Traditional in Tuscany, these wines are often made from white grape varieties such as Trebbiano and Malvasia, though Sangiovese may be used to produce a ''rosé'' style known as "Occ ...
'' style DOC wines are composed of at least 50 percent Trebbiano filled out with other local varieties. All grapes destined for DOC wine production are limited to a maximum
harvest
Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...
yield of 10
tonnes
The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United States ...
/
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
, with the finished wines required to have a minimum
alcohol level
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
of at least 12 percent.
Historic railways heritage site
Val d'Orcia is crossed by a 19th-century railway, whose tracks, stations and tunnels are continually maintained in working order, the normal railway service provided by the state having been discontinued in 1994. The scenic line connects the small town of
Asciano
Asciano () is a ''comune'' and hill town in the province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. It is located at the centre of the Crete senesi between the river Ombrone and the torrent Copra, some southeast of the town of Siena by rail.
Histo ...
with
Monte Antico
Monte Antico is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Civitella Paganico, province of Grosseto, in the area of the Ombrone Valley. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 33. using historic steam engines and carriages on selected dates throughout the year, to serve visitors to local festivals.
Film locations
Val d'Orcia has been a location for many well-known films, including:
*''
8½
' (Italian title: , ) is a 1963 surrealist comedy-drama film directed and co-written (with Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano and Brunello Rondi) by Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The metafictional narrative centers on Guido Anselmi, played by M ...
'' by
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...
(1963)
*''
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
''Brother Sun, Sister Moon'' ( it, Fratello Sole, Sorella Luna) is a 1972 film directed by Franco Zeffirelli and starring Graham Faulkner and Judi Bowker. The film is an examination of the life of Saint Francis of Assisi.
Plot
Francesco, the sp ...
'' by
Franco Zeffirelli
Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019), was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post-World War II era, ...
(1972)
*''
Nostalghia
''Nostalghia'' (UK: ''Nostalgia'') is a 1983 Soviet- Italian drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky and starring Oleg Yankovsky, Domiziana Giordano, and Erland Josephson. Tarkovsky co-wrote the screenplay with Tonino Guerra.
The film depicts a ...
'' by
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky ( rus, Андрей Арсеньевич Тарковский, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ɐrˈsʲenʲjɪvʲɪtɕ tɐrˈkofskʲɪj; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Russian filmmaker. Widely considered one of the greates ...
(1983)
*
''The English Patient'' by
Anthony Minghella
Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007.
He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...
(1996)
*''
Stealing Beauty
''Stealing Beauty'' (french: Beauté volée; it, Io ballo da sola) is a 1996 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Liv Tyler, Joseph Fiennes, Jeremy Irons, Sinéad Cusack, and Rachel Weisz. Written by Bertolucci and Susan Mi ...
'' by
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci (; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international ...
(1996)
*''
A Midsummer Night's Dream
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...
'' by
Michael Hoffman (1999)
*''
Gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
'' by
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is a British film director and producer. Directing, among others, science fiction films, his work is known for its atmospheric and highly concentrated visual style. Scott has received many accolades thr ...
(2000)
In literature
The book ''
War in Val d'Orcia
''War in Val d'Orcia'' is a civilian Second World War memoir in diary form, set in Tuscany. The author was the Anglo-Irish writer and philanthropist Iris Origo.
Setting
Origo, with her Italian husband Antonio, a nobleman, owned and managed the es ...
'' by
Iris Origo
Dame Iris Margaret Origo, Marchesa Origo, DBE (née Cutting; 15 August 1902 – 28 June 1988) was an English-born biographer and writer. She lived in Italy and devoted much of her life to improving the Tuscan estate at La Foce, near Montepulcia ...
(1902–1988) is a detailed, first-hand account of the World War II events of 1943–1944 in the region, written as a diary in English.
[Iris Margaret Origo, Marchioness: ''War in Val d'Orcia. A Diary'' (London: Jonathan Cape, 1947 (British Library details).]
Gallery
File:Val D Orcia Sunrise (151505625).jpeg
File:Siena Hills - Montalcino, Siena, Italy - june 23, 2018.jpg
File:Castiglione-Scenery-2012.JPG
File:Castiglione d'Orcia, Province of Siena, Tuscany, Italy - panoramio.jpg
File:Orcia cipressi 001.jpg
File:San Quirico d'Orcia - lo.tangelini.jpg
File:Toscana - Val d'Orcia - dalla Via della Foce - Flickr - Oishi Kuranosuke.jpg
File:Dry and Desolate (Unsplash).jpg
File:Cypress (257433311).jpeg
References
External links
Val d'Orcia Natural Park (Official page)UNESCO World Heritage Centre :: Val d’OrciaHeritage railways in Val d'Orcia. The Asciano-Monte Antico line
{{Authority control
Romanesque architecture in Tuscany
Hilltowns in Tuscany
Valleys of Tuscany
World Heritage Sites in Italy