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The 28.5 km leg of the Via Francigena begins in Siena and takes less than 7 hours. A challenging course along the roads of the Val d'Arbia, with rolling landscapes and views on the skyline of the city of Siena, leading to the Grancia di Cuna, an ancient fortified farm that was owned by the Santa Maria della Scala hospice.
Continuing along the foothills of the Siena Crete, you pass Monteroni d'Arbia and reach Quinciano. A short distance away is the fortified town of Lucignano, with the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. After a stretch along the railway line is the end of this leg in Ponte d'Arbia.
To find a rest stop you must travel away from Isola d'Arbia, while the water supply (very little) an also be found at the Grancia di Cuna.
TO DOWNLOAD A MAP CLICK HERE
Total length (km): 28.5
Type of travel: On foot, by mountain bike
Travel time on foot (h: min): 6.20
Difference in height (m): 234
Descent (m): 408
Maximum height (m): 318
Difficulty: Challenging
Paved roads: 30%
Dirt roads and driveways: 69%
Mule tracks and paths: 1%
Cycling: 100%
Getting to the starting point: Empoli-Siena-Grosseto and Siena-Chiusi railway lines, Siena station
WHAT TO SEE
Siena - At the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Siena reached dimensions worthy of other major urban centers of Europe at the time. The city offered to pilgrims health care and lodgings at the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, built in the eleventh century; it quickly became one of the largest foundations of its kind, and a large number of hotels and inns were located mostly in the Camollia and San Martino areas, located near the Via Francigena. From Porta Romana, the Via Francigena continues south, along a route that largely coincides with highway 2. On this street there are the still ancient hospitals of St. Mary of Bellem, known as the leper house of St. Lazarus, and two others, the Chaplet and the Hill of Malamerenda.
Isola d'Arbia - Here you'll find the Romanesque church of St. Hilary recalls the dedication of a saint that was venerated in France. The route passes by the Grancia di Cuna fortress, built in the midst of vast properties of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena.
Monteroni d'Arbia - Monteroni d'Arbia is considered the gateway to the southern province of Siena, a beautiful area crossed by the Via Cassia. It is a small country whose development is linked to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. The town of 7,161 inhabitants is 13 km from Siena and was formed in 1810, under Napoleonic rule. Until that moment, in fact, it was part of Monteroni Podesta Buonconvento.
Lucignano - Just past the small town of Monteroni d'Arbia is Lucignano. There you'll find two gate-towers and a fourteenth-century medieval tower converted into a massive tower of the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. The water mill, which appeared in the first century BC, may be considered the first industrial installation of the story.
Ponte d'Arbia - Arbia is the fourteenth leg of the itinerary of Sigeric. It stood at the foot of the Siena Crete, the ancient desert Accona, in Ponte d'Arbia. This territory in medieval times was partially submerged with water, and at one point emerging stood the small Romanesque church of St. Hilary, a place of devotion of the French pilgrims. On the crest of the Siena Crete is the monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, with a beautiful frescoed cloister.
OSPITALITA' PER IL PELLEGRINO
- Siena: Caritas, Via della Diana 4 - Tel 0577 280643 - caritas@carita-sfiera.org - www.caritas-siena.org – variable spots - Men only
- Siena: Convento Figlie della Carità "San Vincenzo", Piazza San Girolamo, 8 – Tel 0577 21271 – 340 8721787 - casaprovinciale@yahoo.it – 5 spots - kitchen available
- Siena: Ostello della gioventù Guidoriccio, Via Fiorentina 89 - Tel 0577 52212 - siena@ostellionline.org – 100 spots - Breakfast included
- Siena: S. Regina, Via Bianca Piccolomini – 57 spots - Breakfast included
- Siena: Accoglienza Santa Luisa, Via San Girolamo 8 - Tel 0577 284377 – 8 spots
- Buonconvento: Parrocchia SS Pietro e Paolo, Via del Sole 13 - Tel 0577 806089 - 10 spots
Continuing along the foothills of the Siena Crete, you pass Monteroni d'Arbia and reach Quinciano. A short distance away is the fortified town of Lucignano, with the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. After a stretch along the railway line is the end of this leg in Ponte d'Arbia.
To find a rest stop you must travel away from Isola d'Arbia, while the water supply (very little) an also be found at the Grancia di Cuna.
TO DOWNLOAD A MAP CLICK HERE
Total length (km): 28.5
Type of travel: On foot, by mountain bike
Travel time on foot (h: min): 6.20
Difference in height (m): 234
Descent (m): 408
Maximum height (m): 318
Difficulty: Challenging
Paved roads: 30%
Dirt roads and driveways: 69%
Mule tracks and paths: 1%
Cycling: 100%
Getting to the starting point: Empoli-Siena-Grosseto and Siena-Chiusi railway lines, Siena station
WHAT TO SEE
Siena - At the turn of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Siena reached dimensions worthy of other major urban centers of Europe at the time. The city offered to pilgrims health care and lodgings at the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala, built in the eleventh century; it quickly became one of the largest foundations of its kind, and a large number of hotels and inns were located mostly in the Camollia and San Martino areas, located near the Via Francigena. From Porta Romana, the Via Francigena continues south, along a route that largely coincides with highway 2. On this street there are the still ancient hospitals of St. Mary of Bellem, known as the leper house of St. Lazarus, and two others, the Chaplet and the Hill of Malamerenda.
Isola d'Arbia - Here you'll find the Romanesque church of St. Hilary recalls the dedication of a saint that was venerated in France. The route passes by the Grancia di Cuna fortress, built in the midst of vast properties of the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala in Siena.
Monteroni d'Arbia - Monteroni d'Arbia is considered the gateway to the southern province of Siena, a beautiful area crossed by the Via Cassia. It is a small country whose development is linked to the Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. The town of 7,161 inhabitants is 13 km from Siena and was formed in 1810, under Napoleonic rule. Until that moment, in fact, it was part of Monteroni Podesta Buonconvento.
Lucignano - Just past the small town of Monteroni d'Arbia is Lucignano. There you'll find two gate-towers and a fourteenth-century medieval tower converted into a massive tower of the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. The water mill, which appeared in the first century BC, may be considered the first industrial installation of the story.
Ponte d'Arbia - Arbia is the fourteenth leg of the itinerary of Sigeric. It stood at the foot of the Siena Crete, the ancient desert Accona, in Ponte d'Arbia. This territory in medieval times was partially submerged with water, and at one point emerging stood the small Romanesque church of St. Hilary, a place of devotion of the French pilgrims. On the crest of the Siena Crete is the monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, with a beautiful frescoed cloister.
OSPITALITA' PER IL PELLEGRINO
- Siena: Caritas, Via della Diana 4 - Tel 0577 280643 - caritas@carita-sfiera.org - www.caritas-siena.org – variable spots - Men only
- Siena: Convento Figlie della Carità "San Vincenzo", Piazza San Girolamo, 8 – Tel 0577 21271 – 340 8721787 - casaprovinciale@yahoo.it – 5 spots - kitchen available
- Siena: Ostello della gioventù Guidoriccio, Via Fiorentina 89 - Tel 0577 52212 - siena@ostellionline.org – 100 spots - Breakfast included
- Siena: S. Regina, Via Bianca Piccolomini – 57 spots - Breakfast included
- Siena: Accoglienza Santa Luisa, Via San Girolamo 8 - Tel 0577 284377 – 8 spots
- Buonconvento: Parrocchia SS Pietro e Paolo, Via del Sole 13 - Tel 0577 806089 - 10 spots
