Monteriggioni is a town and commune in the Province of Siena with 8,168 inhabitants. It is situated on a small natural hillock, completely walled medieval town, built in the 13th century by the overlords of Siena to command the Via Cassia Road. Its ideal position allowed to control the Elsa and the Staggia Valleys towards Florence, the historic enemy of Siena, that at that time was rapidly expanding its territory.

Monteriggioni is one of the most classical and best known Italian walled town. Since the Middle Age its fame was so great that also the great poet Dante refers to its in his Divine Comedy. The walls, nearly intact, cover a length of 570 meters and are alternated by 14 towers and two gates. The Sienese gate rises at the base of a tower while the gate oriented toward Florence opens in the wall and is defended by one of the towers of the fortified perimeter.

The town is really authentic because it has never suffered from building or tourist speculations. The only changes to its aspect happened in the first years of the 16th century when the towers at the base of the walls were lowered with the purpose to get a bastion effect trying to adapt the fortifications to the development of the new fire weapons.

The main town piazza, the Piazza Roma, is dominated by a Romanesque church with a simple, plain facade. Other houses, some in the Renaissance style, once owned by local nobles, gentry and wealthy merchants facing into the piazza. Off the main piazza smaller streets give way to public gardens fronted by the other houses and small businesses of the town.

Today, the town of Monteriggioni is the principal center in the modern Commune of Monteriggioni which encompasses 19.49 square kilometers in the area around the town. Distances from other major towns and cities are: Siena 15 km; Volterra 39 km; Florence 50 km; Pisa 157 km; Lucca 123 km; and Rome - 250 km.

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Comune Monteriggioni