Among the gentle curves that draw the unmistakable profile of the Val d’Orcia are places that exude a spiritual charm and naturally invite you to slow down.
Churches, hermitages and shrines have stood for centuries behind groups of cypress trees or are hidden in the green woods, or are revealed in the large squares and streets of villages, set like gems between one house and another.
Over the centuries, the Val d’Orcia has been a welcoming land that has known saints, hermits and pilgrims on their way along the Via Francigena, prominent personalities whose presence encouraged the construction of places of worship cloaked in stories and legends. Traces of their passage can be found in a plaque honoring them, in the names of some localities or in the colors of a fresco; several of these stories are linked to churches, others have come to life around towers and castles, and still others involve caves and springs.
Churches and museums are the spaces that more than others guard the spiritual memory of the territory, but everywhere one breathes the mysticism of a Val d’Orcia to be discovered, also made up of symbols and mysteries: strange and fantastic figures-dragons, mermaids and mythological beings-look out from the bas-reliefs and paintings of sanctuaries, abbeys and historic palaces, while outdoors one finds gardens defined as “esoteric,” where everything seems enchanted.
But the spirituality of the Val d’Orcia is also in its lush and varied nature, where healing waters flow and there is anair of intimate romance, as well as in its unconditional beauty, which invites you to find your own rhythm to fully enjoy the experiences this area has to offer and the stories it can tell.
