Overview

Originally called Sufficillum, Sovicille is a fortified village located at the foot of the south-eastern part of the Montagnola, about 10 km west of Siena, along the route of the ancient Maremma road which connects the Via Francigena and the Maremma coast.

A castle was the centre point of the historical village of Sovicille. It was later transformed into a stately villa by Baldassarre Peruzzi, a great Renaissance architect in the 16th century. The main square is overlooked by the castle, the fourteenth-century church of San Lorenzo, the town hall and several other stone buildings. The original, ancient wall surrounding the center is still partly visible. The area around the town is rich in small fortified villages, austere Romanesque churches and elegant castles.

Historical findings in the area date back to the Etruscans and Romans, however, it was in the Middle Ages that this land experienced its golden age, as indicated by the richness of Romanesque churches and castles located throughout the territory: and authentic pearls of art such as the abbey of Torri, with its cloister, Ponte della Pia, the churches of Ponte allo Spino, San Giusto a Balli, Pernina, Molli, Rosia and Sovicille. The fortified castles, some of which date back to the Middle Ages, built to defend this strategically decisive territory for Siena, include Radi, Celsa, Palazzo al Piano, Montarrenti, Castiglion che Dio sol Sa, Rosia, Orgia, Capraia and Siena Vecchia. Renaissance villas of note in the region are the seventeenth-century Cetinale, and Celsa, with its beautiful Italian garden, and finally the eighteenth-century villa of Linari.

Geografically Sovicille is blessed with a flourishing alluvial plain, wooded hills populated by a rich Mediterranean fauna and numerous waterways. It also boasts a wealth of commercial activities from artisans to international pharmacological laboratories.