Known as the Pearl of Valdichiana, Lucignano is an extraordinary example of an elliptical-shaped medieval town plan with concentric ring roads that have survived intact over the centuries. At its most prosperous between the 13th and 16th centuries, thanks to its strategic position, it’s the connection with Siena that has influenced its architectural development. The works of art preserved in the Municipal Museum are mostly by Sienese artists, including the extraordinary Golden Tree, a jewel of medieval goldsmiths and a compendium of Franciscan symbolism. The hilltop is the borgo’s centre of political and religious power, here we find the Town Hall, the Municipal Museum and the Church of San Francesco, which contains a fascinating and suggestive fresco known as The Triumph of Death. The perimeter city walls, with three gates and two towers, were completed in the 14th century under Sienese rule. From 1554, under the Medicis, there were other interventions: the construction of the fortress, the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Querce attributed to Vasari (1568) and built over a well whose water is said to help women who lack milk or are sterile; the Convent of the Capuchins (1580), and the Collegiate Church (1594), whose beautiful travertine staircase repeats the ellipsoidal design of the town’s urban structure.

Must-see

•The Church of the Misericordia of 1582 has two terracotta statues.
•The Fortress is situated on a hill not far from the walls; the latter are part of the construction of a fortification that was built to defend the castle after the conquest by the Florentines, around the mid-1500s.