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.

Where is Monteriggioni?

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

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.

66 km / 41 mi

Nearest hub (Firenze)

9,991

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Monteriggioni sitson 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.

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Gallery

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Known for

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.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

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.