Monteriggioni Virtual Tour

Left the monotony and the speed of the motorway we are immersed in the softness of the "senese" countryside and, although the reduced speed, we risk to lose some glimpse of the landscape and we want stop after every curve to admire the different colours of the landscape. And it is after one of these curves which suddenly, on a natural hillock, stand out the Walls and the Towers of Monteriggioni a medieval town in the province of Siena in Tuscany.

The entrance to the village is possible through two doors facing each other: the Porta Franca, or Romea, looking toward Siena, and the Porta San Giovanni that overlooks Florence. The two ports are connected by a single longitudinal axis that leads in the main square, the Piazza Roma, dominated by a Romanesque church with a simple, plain facade. It seems to live in the medieval times, although the restaurants, the shops and some homes have modern connotations; but the streets, the stairways, the arcades, the small courtyards and the tiny slits that open onto the massive walls have preserved the ancient village and the medieval atmosphere.

Siena 360°: Monteriggioni VR Panoramas

SIENA 360° … MONTERIGGIONI

Porta Franca (Romea) looking toward Siena

The city wall circumference of Monteriggioni has an egg-shaped profile and follow the hill contour line. The Walls have an average depth from 1 and half meter to 2 meters. The diameter of the village is 172 meters.

Piazza Roma with the Church of Santa Maria

The street from Porta Franca leads to Piazza Roma which is the heart of the village with the church of Santa Maria Assunta. In the 60s the square was paved with stone from the quarries of Rosia.

Panoramic view from the top of the Walls looking toward Florence

The 15 towers, with a square plan, are irregularly placed at a distance between 40 and 80 meters, the range of a crossbow shot and, originally, were 10 meters higher than the walls.

The Castle of Monteriggioni from a field of red poppies

Little work has been done to Monteriggioni's Walls or buildings since they were first erected. So the town of Monteriggioni is the best preserved example of its kind in all of Italy.