San Quirico d'Orcia is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) of about 2,500 inhabitants in the

Province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban area o ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

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 ...

, located about southeast of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and about southeast 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 ...

inside the Valdorcia landscape. It is named in honor of Saint Quiricus. Located on the

Via Francigena The Via Francigena () is an ancient road and pilgrimage route running from the cathedral city of Canterbury in England, through France and Switzerland, to Rome and then to Apulia, Italy, where there were ports of embarkation for the Holy Land. It w ...

, San Quirico d'Orcia borders the municipalities of Castiglione d'Orcia,

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 ...

and

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 ...

Main sights

The ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of Vignoni houses a castle, a residence of the Salimbeni family in the 12th century. It includes a top-less tower and a Romanesque church, once housing a crufix by

Giambologna Giambologna (1529 – 13 August 1608), also known as Jean de Boulogne (French), Jehan Boulongne (Flemish) and Giovanni da Bologna (Italian), was the last significant Italian Renaissance sculptor, with a large workshop producing large and small ...

, now in the Museum of

. Annexed is also the (rebuilt) 15th century ''Palazzo degli Amerighi'', where a plot was set against the Spanish who menaced

in 1558–59. San Quirico is home to the following churches: * Collegiate church of ''San Quirico''. Once a rural ''

pieve In the Middle Ages, a pieve (, ; la, plebe, link=no; plural ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. The Italian word ''pieve'' is descended from Latin ''plebs'' which, after th ...

'' (pleban church) from the 8th century, with a baptismal font, it was rebuilt into the current structure in the 12th century. The rear section was altered in 1663 to add the choir. It is on the Latin cross plan, with a single nave and side chapels. Notable is the main portal, in Lombard style, consisting in a decorated protiro in

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, with columns supported by lions. The arch includes ten columns, whose capitals are decorated with animals and vegetable figures, while the

architrave In classical architecture, an architrave (; from it, architrave "chief beam", also called an epistyle; from Greek ἐπίστυλον ''epistylon'' "door frame") is the lintel or beam that rests on the capitals of columns. The term can ...

features two crocodiles facing each other. The lunette has a

high-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

sculpture allegedly portraying

St. Damasus Pope Damasus I (; c. 305 – 11 December 384) was the bishop of Rome from October 366 to his death. He presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon or official list of sacred scripture. He spoke out against major heresies ( ...

, though likely to be identified with St. Quiricus. A side portal, added in the 13th century, has been attributed to

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano (c. 1250 – c. 1315) was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Rom ...

, who was in Siena at the time. Most of the interior decoration date to the 17th century, while the bell tower was rebuilt in 1798–1806. * Romanesque church of ''San Biagio a Vignoni'' * Church of ''Santa Maria Assunta'' (late 11th century) * Church of ''Madonna di Vitaleta'', housing a "Madonna" attributed to Andrea della Robbia * Church of ''San Giovanni Battista'', at Bagno Vignoni *

Horti Leonini Horti is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 208100 Horti, Bijapur, Karnataka It is located in the Indi taluk of Vijayapur district in Karnataka. Demographics India census, Horti had a population of 7662 with ...

(1561), an example of

Italian garden The Italian garden (or giardino all'italiana () is best known for a number of large Italian Renaissance gardens which have survived in something like their original form. In the history of gardening, during the Renaissance, Italy had the most ...

References

External links

Official website

Cities and towns in Tuscany Val d'Orcia {{Siena-geo-stub