Secret Siena discovered with the FAI

We too went to discover hidden Siena and its surroundings.

First stop on our itinerary is Radicofani. The landscape that presents itself when we arrive in the early hours of the morning tells us of ancient stories of knights and ladies. Today the FAI opened the Posta Medicea, a 16th-century building along the Via Francigena, commissioned by Grand Duke Ferdinand I de 'Medici (1584) and built by the famous architect Bernardo Buontalenti. Opposite a magnificent fountain, built in 1603, which served to water horses. Radicofani was one of the most important centers of the Via Francigena, given its strategic position, right on the border between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal State.

This building was on the route that leads directly from Radicofani to Rome. The spaces are remarkable: on the ground floor the stables, entrance rooms, kitchens, dining rooms, main rooms and quarters for the guards. On the first floor, two large halls, the owners' apartment, the Royal Chapel of the SS. Annunziata, and rooms for important guests. On the second floor, two halls for the servants and rooms for other guests. The building was used as a railway post and horse-changing station until the end of the 19th century, when it became the private residence of the Bologna family.

Many important figures have stopped: Popes Pius VI and Pius VII, Grand Duke Ferdinand I, Cosimo II, Leopold II, the writer Thomas Gray, Emperor Joseph II of Austria, Giacomo Casanova, the Marquis de Sade Stendhal, François René de Chateaubriand, John Ruskin, Charles Dickens and others.

After a poetic immersion in the surroundings of Siena, we returned to the city, choosing the Oratory of the Compagnia della Santissima Trinità, founded by the monk Francesco Patrizi, who in 1298 established a pious association of men only, the “Compagnia Minore della Vergine Maria.” In 1338, the brothers decided to change the society’s name, dedicating it to the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary. The Oratory is located in the Valmontone district. The society hosted members of the district, granting them part of the premises for their headquarters until 1743, when they moved to the Oratory of San Leonardo.

Inside, one can admire the extraordinary richness of colors in the frescoes by the Sienese painter Ventura Salimbeni, who decorated the vaulted ceilings. After a very turbulent history, the confraternity—still in existence—has preserved its mission of mutual assistance among members and the care, restoration, and preservation of the company’s historical heritage.