OVERVIEW.
Though Castel Del Piano is the main commercial center of this area, this town also has an interesting cultural heritage.
The origins are very ancient – archeological finds date backs to Paleolithic, Neolithic, Etruscan and Roman periods. During the 9th century “Casale Plana” was under the governance of Abbadia San Salvatore. From 1175 to 1331 the town became an ownership of counts Aldobrandeschi of Santa Fiora. Then the Republic of Siena got it behind payment of 8.000 golden Fiorin. After the Republic fallen in 1555, Castel del Piano was governed by Florence and the Medici family for 2 centuries. In 1737 Grand Duchy of Tuscany (so Castel del Piano too) became part of the Kingdom of Austria and in the 1861 it became a province of the Kingdom of Italy. During the World War II one of the early “Comitato Liberazione Nazionale” was formed in Castel del Piano.
Passing through the “Porta dell’Orologio” – the ancient “Porta Pianese” – you will access to the primal center, divided into two quarters: the one of the 16th century and the more ancient, striking medieval quarter. “Piana”, the main street, is famous for housing workshops since 16th century. The town planning outside the inner town was redesigned by Orazio Imberciadori (painter and architect, 1788-1861) in the 19th century. Elegant tree-lined roads and beautiful squares decorate this part of the town.
CHURCHES.
Chiesa Parrocchiale della Natività della Madonna, also called dell’Opera or della Propositura.
The building dates back to the late Renaissance. It was commissioned in 1490. “Pietra concia” (slightly worked pieces of stone) was used for this church. The façade and the bell-tower (35 meters high) were only completed in the 1870, following a design by Orazio Imberciadori. God and angels were shown in the big pediment, and the four niches host the statues of S. Pietro, S. Paolo, S. Vincenzo Ferrer and S. Niccolò. The symbols of the Comune, the Medici family and the Savoia family are on the façade. The stained glass window is modern masterpiece by Prof. Bruno Buracchini.
The interior is characterized by a nave with eight altars (four on each side). Frescos on the vault were made by Francesco Notari in 1905.
Beside the high altar there are the statues of S. Sebastiano and S. Rocco. Giuseppe Nicola Nasini (1657 – 1737) painted the canvases of the high altar in 1705.
Chiesa della Madonna delle Grazie.
As the story goes, in 1430, during one of the many wars between Siena and the Aldobrandeschi family, the Madonna appeared to four soldiers of Siena army in chapel of Sorano (GR) – the golden painting of the Virgin told them to leave the battlefield before the arrival of the enemy and the destruction of the chapel. So, the soldiers came back to Castel del Piano, their hometown, saving both the painting and themselves.
Nowadays this golden masterpiece – probably made by Sano di Pietro – is housed in “Chiesa della Madonna della Grazie”. The building was commissioned after the apparition, in 1430, and it was enlarged in 1512.
The Renaissance façade, made of “concio di peperino” (a grey stone), was only completed in 1932.
The church has one nave. On the right there are paintings by Francesco Nasini (1611/1621 – 1695). On the left there is a painting representing the “Immacolata Concezione”, a 19th century copy of the original painting by Murillo (Hermitage, Saint Petersburg). There is also a flag of the SS Vergine Assunta company, representing the “Assunzione della Madonna”, painted in the 1759.
Trivia.
- There are 3 copies of Sano di Pietro’s masterpiece: one in the Museum of Art, El Paso, TX (someone says that it’s the original painting); one in Vatican; one in Palazzo Nerucci, Castel del Piano.
- After the apparition, the “Palio delle Contrade” got the religious meaning and it was dedicated to the “Madonna Santissima delle Grazie”.
- Outside the church, over the set of doors a symbol (maybe belonged to the Maestripieri family) is sculptured: it includes a compass, a Freemasonry symbol.
Chiesa di S. Leonardo (o dei S. Nicolò e Lucia).
The Romanesque church was built during the 12th century over a 9th century Benedictine cellar. It was enlarged in 1451 and a new bell-tower was built in 1520. The façade was modified from Romanesque to Neo-Gothic style in 1915.
The interior is characterized by three naves; the main one is covered with trusses. On the left side there is a baptistery made of alabaster – it was the tabernacle of Chiesa Piccina and it was moved in this church during the Renaissance period. The organ dates back to 1854. Near the S. Gerolamo altar there is the symbol of the Nerucci family. On the right there are the S. Giovanni altar and several 15th century frescoes.
Chiesa del SS. Sacramento (Chiesa Piccina).
The Romanesque church dates back to the 13th century, but it was modified from 17th century to 1858. The new bell-tower was finished in 1900.
The statue of “Madonna di Loreto” – made of wood, dated back to 1634 and restored in 1987 – is houses inside. The original statue in Loreto was lost during a fire in 1921, so this copy in Castel del Piano is more ancient than the present-day statue in Loreto.
Chiesa di S. Giuseppe (Oratorio della Confraternita della Misericordia).
The “Confraternita della Misericordia” has run this chapel – maybe built in the 17th century – since 1870, the year of its foundation.
The façade is very moderate. Near the door there is a shell-shape alms-box made of stone.
The inside is not so big but the chapel gives rise to suggestion, thanks to the typical Baroque altar made of plaster. You can admire the beautiful masterpiece by Francesco Nasini, “Lo sposalizio della Vergine”, dated back to 1664.
The church was restored in 1995.
Convent of S. Processo.
The convent probably dates back to the 9th century, during the governance of Abbadia San Salvatore. the minor conventual Franciscans made the present-day structure from 12th century, but after the suppression of monk orders the convent was abandoned and its huge property was dispersed. E.g. Chiesa della Propositura houses the statue of S. Nicola made of wood dated back to the 17th century and other furniture coming from the convent. Today you can only see the bell-tower, traces of the church and a cistern (it still works). A part of the convent was transformed in a farmhouse and today is included in a holiday farm.
Pope Gregorio VII, during turbulent facts of Canossa, S. Caterina from Siena and S. Bernardino from Siena were guests in the convent.
Trivia.
As the story goes, the monks had a donkey. They lent it to the village, so the poor people could bring wood home. The monks thought that peasants fed the donkey as a payment. On the other hand the peasants believed in the generosity of the monks, so they thought that the monks fed the animal. So nobody fed it and at the end the donkey starved. Since that fact, in Castel del Piano speaking about a trivial fact they have said: – What’s happened? – The donkey of S. Processo’s died!
Baldassarre Audibert’s Crosses.
Audibert, a mystical penitent, saw the cross as a symbolic tool to calm the wrath of God. So he made crosses and placed them in the Amiata area, especially in Castel del Piano.
The classical structure of these creations is a Latin cross made of wood and a mountain-shape stone basement, where “B.A.P.” (Baldassarre Audibert Pax) and “1846” (year of placement) are engraved.
Today there are about 20 Audibert’s crosses in the Amiata area. Some of them were destroyed and nowadays you can only see their stone basements. Many others were completely modified in the last years and lost the original features of Audibert’s ones, though they still have engravings.
Santa Flora (in Noceto).
It was the chapel of the village, built by Aldobrandeschi in 1097. During the 17th century it was destroyed. Francesco Aurelio Ginanneschi – a person beside the Pope – rebuilt it from 1752 to 1754 and dedicated the new church to Sacro Cuore. Nowadays the roof is fallen down and inside the vegetation grows, but you can still see the altar where “Madonna del Noceto” was housed – today it is in Chiesa della Propositura.
Pieve di S. Lucia (in Montenero d’Orcia).
The church was built in the 12th century and was strongly modified in the 20th century. It houses well-restored 14th century part of the crucifix by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
La Madonna del Camicione.
As the story goes, Camicione (a shirt seller coming from Abbadia San Salvatore) was coming back home. He was swearing a lot because the night came down and he was still in the beechwood. Swearing, the devil came. The man was very scared, so he started to pray Madonna – she came and helped him. In that place an aedicule was made. Nowadays the area beside it is equipped with benches, tables and large barbecue grills.
MUSEUMS AND OTHER BUILDING.
Museum dedicate to wine production (in Montenero d’Orcia).
The museum is inside the Monte Cucco wine trail. It shows the local wine production in connection to the modification of territory and the evolution of cultivation and harvest. In showcases there are a lot of historical wine production tools, such as pruning scissors, pumps for copper treatment and corkscrews.
There is also an exposition of Monte Cucco DOC wine bottles.
The building is architectural barrier-free designed and it has devices for the deaf.
Nerucci Palace – Art collection.
The building dates back to 1554 and it is completely restored in the last years. It has a colonnade with excellent frescoes. Today this palace is the cultural and artistic center of the town – the most important meeting and exhibitions are housed here and there is a spacious multimedia room which schools can use.
In one of its rooms several works of art are housed. The Vegni family was the owner of the most part of them. In 1883 it donated them to the hospital. Landscapes and portraits are the subjects of the collection.
Teatro Amiatino.
The theatre was built in the late 1800. Inside there was floral decorations and outside on the façade there was written “Ancor fra i geli rigoglioso cresce”, an academic motto which means “it still grows in the middle of cold”. The building became a cinema in the 30’s and in 1960 it was redecorated. Form 1984 to 1995 the Comune retransformed it in a theatre – now concerts and theatrical performances take place here.
Ruins of the Castle of Montegiovi.
The castle was built over an almost isolated hill. The early documents about it date back to 1262. Here the soldier of fortune Buoso Attendoli from Cutignola was born.
Nowadays Montegiovi is a quite village and there are few traces of that caste – just a polygonal tower and a gate.
Cassero Senese (in Montenero D’Orcia).
The fortress dates back to the 15th century – it was built over the Aldobrandeschi castle. Nowadays there is just the tower hidden by the public park trees. From the top of it you can see the final part of Val d’Orcia and a wide hill area along Valle dell’Ombrone.
SQUARES.
Parco della Rimembranza.
This circular square is placed at the entrance of town. It was open in 1923. Pinetrees surround the square – at the foot of each one there is the name of a fallen. Maybe the square was designed by Orazio Imberciadori (1788-1861) following the plan of Piazza del Popolo in Rome. A war memorial is in the middle of it, designed by Francesco Notari (1876-1941). It was unveiled in 1926.
Piazza Garibaldi.
This shell-shape square is placed in the heart of Castel del Piano. It follows the plan of Piazza del Campo in Siena, but its small columns (dated back to 1811) are more ancient than ones in the famous square. The obelisk dedicated to the “Hero of the Two World” dates back to 1883, one of the earlies in Italy.
The square was restored in the last years, with wide green and paths for pedestrians – it is very suggestive at night, thanks to the new illumination.
The Medieval history is evoked every year with the “Palio delle Contrade”. Siena allowed the “Fiera di Merci e Bestiame” in Castel del Piano on 9th of September 1402 and maybe during that event the first horse races took place. Since 1771 the horse race between the 4 “Contrade” has took place at Piazza Garibaldi, every 8th of September, and has been anticipated with an historical parade – it evokes historical facts from 1330 to 1571.
Piazza Colonna.
In this square Palazzo Nerucci is placed. In the middle of Piazza Colonna there are traces of a column where public announcements were posted.
Piazza Rosa Guarnieri Carducci (Piazzone).
From this wide square you will access to the old town, through Porta Pianese.
Here, two benches made of stone remember Francesco Magliacani e Giuseppe Sorbelli. These two inhabitants of Castel del Piano were beside Garibaldi during the Expedition of the Thousand (1860). When they came back home they wanted to remember that feat with these two benches.
