Located between the Val di Chiana and Val d’Orcia, Sarteano boasts an area rich in greenery, history, art and culture. What really stands out is the nature that surrounds the historic village and welcomes the tourist among breathtaking landscapes that open up to many walks and outdoor experiences, ranging from the dense woods of Mount Cetona to the splendid beech forest of the Pietraporciana nature reserve. Do not miss the pine forest on the hills of Poggio Rotondo with its caves and the equipped area of the Crocette for a picnic in the woods, reaching the area of naturalistic and historical interest of the Celle di San Francesco: for trekking enthusiasts therefore, it is an area full of opportunities.
No less fascinating is the town of Sarteano, which is well recognizable for the bulk of the fifteenth-century castle that rises from the town and demonstrates its glorious past. The earliest human records date back to the Neolithic era and are attested to by sites of great prehistoric significance, such as the Grotta dell’Orso or the Buca del Rospo, from the Bronze Age. Anyway, the first real settlement was by the Etruscans, who inhabited the territory assiduously and who left many finds, collected in the collections of the Civic Archaeological Museum.
In Sarteano there is also the Infernal Quadriga, an important tomb that houses some of the best preserved frescoes of this civilization. The identity of the village has been shaped especially in medieval times, with many majestic buildings that can still be admired today: the castle keep, the church of San Martino in Foro, the collegiate church of Saints Lorenzo and Apollinare, the palace municipal building, the Piccolomini palace, the Goti-Fanelli palace, the Cennini palace and the Teatro degli Arrischianti. Finally, a few kilometers from the historic center, a visit to Castiglioncello del Trinoro is recommended, with a medieval soul due to the Romanesque church of Sant'Andrea, the 1300 gate and the town hall, but with Etruscan origins evidenced by the nearby necropolis of Solaia.
