What to see in Monteriggioni, visit the ancient Tuscan village surrounded by walls a few km from Siena with the Church of Santa Maria Assunta.
Tourist information
Monteriggioni rises among the Tuscan hills in the province of Siena, an ancient village surrounded by walls with towers and two access doors.
The towers were originally 15, today there are only 11 visible as the other 4 have been lowered to the level of the walls.
In ancient times there was a walkway that ran the top of the walls for the entire perimeter, today only a small part rebuilt can be observed from where you can enjoy a wonderful panorama, typical example of the Tuscan hills.
What see
The two access gates are the Franca gate, facing Siena, and the San Giovanni gate, which faces Florence instead.
If you enter through the Franca gate, you immediately reach Piazza Roma, the main one in the village, originally a dirt road, today paved with stone from the Rosia quarries.
The Church of Santa Maria Assunta was erected in 1219 in the Romanesque Gothic style.
The interior, with a single nave, has typical ribbed vaults with remains of the ancient trusses, while the apse is square with a cross vault, where there is a noteworthy wooden choir, dating back to the sixteenth century.
Note also the two tabernacles of the fifteenth century, the painting of the Madonna by the painter Lippo Vanni, the wooden crucifix and the bell that was donated to the town in 1298 by the city of Siena.
The facade of the church is finished in sandstone and travertine of various colors, with a portal surmounted by an arch and enriched with brick decorations, while the bell tower is from the eighteenth century.
