What is Monteriggioni known for?

Fourteen square towers and 570 meters of curtain wall, intact since 1219, the most complete medieval enceinte in central Italy. Inferno XXXI compares the giants ringing the central pit of Hell to the towers of Monteriggioni seen from below. Medieval pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome runs past the southern wall, a documented stop since the twelfth century.

When is the best time to visit Monteriggioni?

Apr–Oct. April through June and September into October are the months when the walls and the Chianti ridge behind them sit at their best, before the heat closes in. The Festa Medievale takes the second weekend in July, three days of costumed reenactment and feasting inside Piazza Roma, when the village population multiplies. July and August are hot and the day-tripper buses from Firenze and Siena fill the gates between ten and four. November through March is quiet: many trattorie close, the walls stay open, and the fog rolling off the Val d'Elsa wraps the towers in a way that explains exactly why Dante chose them.

Where is Monteriggioni?

Monteriggioni is a comune in the province of Siena, Tuscany region of Italy, about 66 kilometers from Firenze.

How do I get to Monteriggioni?

From Firenze, Monteriggioni is roughly 66 km by road.

Tuscany · Siena

Monteriggioni

A circular Sienese fortress built between 1213 and 1219 on a natural hill, fourteen towers on a 570-meter wall, intact and unbroken.

Known for

THE WALLS
Fourteen square towers and 570 meters of curtain wall, intact since 1219, the most complete medieval enceinte in central Italy.
DANTE'S GIANTS
Inferno XXXI compares the giants ringing the central pit of Hell to the towers of Monteriggioni seen from below.
VIA FRANCIGENA
Medieval pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome runs past the southern wall, a documented stop since the twelfth century.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

Why come

Monteriggioni sits on a natural hillock between Firenze and Siena, eleven kilometers from the Sienese gates. The walls were built between 1213 and 1219, when Siena ran them up as a frontline garrison facing Florentine expansion north. They are still there.

Fourteen square towers, 570 meters of curtain wall, ten meters tall, two gates: Porta Fiorentina to the north, Porta Romana to the south. Dante used the towers in Inferno XXXI as the image for the giants ringing the central pit of Hell. The fortress was never breached by storm.

Inside, the village is a single irregular Piazza Roma, a Romanesque parish church of Santa Maria Assunta, a few streets that take fifteen minutes to walk end to end. The Via Francigena runs past the southern wall. The town hosts a medieval festival in early July, when the population inside the walls multiplies for a weekend. The rest of the year, the silence inside the gates is the point.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

Road to Siena | The Long Way Is the Better Way

The wine is the whole economy of these hills, every village with its own, the region’s name stamped on the most famous red in Italy. Tuscan food runs to cured and roasted meat, so the wine ran red to meet it, lighter than you expect, almost fruity, easy, made to sit beside a steak and not to be lectured about. Here is the only wine knowledge you need on this road: it is all good.

From the Monteriggioni letter, July 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

What to see

Mura di Monteriggioni
Circular 570-meter wall built 1213-1219 by the Sienese, fourteen square towers on equidistant bases, ten meters high, intact.
Piazza Roma
Single main square inside the walls, ringed by stone houses, with the Romanesque parish church on the north side.
Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta
Romanesque parish church on Piazza Roma, plain stone façade, single nave, the only significant religious building inside the walls.
Camminamento delle mura
Walkway along the parapet of the walls, accessible at two points, with views across the Val d'Elsa to the surrounding ridges.
Via Francigena
The medieval pilgrim route from Canterbury to Rome runs past the southern wall, with Monteriggioni a documented overnight stop since the twelfth century.

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Living here

Population 9,991
Commuter belti
Pharmacy in town
Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
Train station in the comune
Nearest airport Bologna, 2 h 29 min drive
Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 36 min drive

Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

Recognised as

The numbers

Elevation: 274 m
Population: 9,991
Surface area: 99.72 km²

On the map

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These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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