What to see in Montepulciano, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Church of San Biagio, the Palazzo Comunale, the Duomo and Palazzo del Capitano.
Tourist information
Montepulciano is a city in Tuscany in the province of Siena, located at 605 meters above sea level. on top of a hill, between the Val d’Orcia and the Valdichiana, surrounded by a very pleasant landscape characterized by cultivated fields and gentle hills covered with olive groves and vineyards.
Much appreciated is the Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, a red DOCG wine produced in its territory.
The origins of Montepulciano date back to the Etruscans, starting from the 4th century BC.
In Roman times it was the seat of an army placed in defense of the consular roads and experienced a first development in the Lombard era, testified by a document dating back to 715 where Montepulciano is named with the name of Mons Politianus.
As a citizen, she definitively established herself towards the second half of the thirteenth century, but as early as the beginning of the century she had entered the sights of Florence and Siena, whose possession assured them of control over the Valdichiana and Val d'Orcia.
In 1390 the alliance of Montepulciano with Florence marked a period of political stability, artistic flourishing and architectural and urban development that covered the entire 1400s until the mid-1500s.
From 1559, with the submission of Siena to Florence, Montepulciano partially lost the strategic and political importance of the past and underwent a period of decline, while maintaining its prestige.
However, the subsequent government of the Lorraines marked an economic and social recovery for Montepulciano, also favored by the reclamation of the Valdichiana.
It was during the nineteenth century that Montepulciano established itself as an agricultural market and place of transformation of agricultural products, but already from the early years of the twentieth century the production activities were moved to the valley floor where the railway was present since 1884.
The center therefore became more and more a place intended to house administrative and representative offices for banks, insurance companies and offices of the Municipality.
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What see
On the top of the hill, on a slight slope is Piazza Grande, arranged in the 15th century by Michelozzo.
The square is dominated by the Palazzo Comunale, while on the largest side stands the Duomo and in front of it the Palazzo de 'Nobili-Tarugi, next to the left, set back behind the late Renaissance well of the Grifi and dei Leoni, is the Palazzo del Capitano del People, of Gothic structure, but remodeled several times.
On the opposite side of the Town Hall, the Renaissance Palazzo Contucci overlooks, started in 1519 by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder and perhaps completed by Baldassarre Peruzzi.
The Cathedral dedicated to Santa Maria Assunta was built between 1594 and 1680, on the site of the old parish church of Santa Maria. The project was entrusted to the Orvieto architect Ippolito Scalza. The building has an unfinished facade.
The very large interior, with a Latin cross layout with three naves on pillars, houses a good number of works of art, some of which come from the ancient parish church and other police churches.
On the left of the building is the fifteenth-century bell tower dating from the previous parish church.
Palazzo Nobili-Tarugi, completely covered in travertine has a deep porch on the ground floor.
It was attributed to Antonio da Sangallo the Elder who would have designed it in the early decades of the sixteenth century.
It was first resided by the Nobili family and later by the Tarugi family.
Palazzo Comunale was built in several stages between the end of the fourteenth century and the first half of the fifteenth century.
Its facade covered in travertine was designed by Michelozzo and overall the structure recalls the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence.
From its crenellated tower it is possible to admire a vast and evocative panorama of the city, the Valdichiana and the Orcia valley.
Church of San Biagio, stands in a beautiful position south-west of the historic center, on a kind of natural terrace.
The building is one of the most significant works of the Renaissance, a masterpiece by Antonio da Sangallo the Elder.
