The walk
The Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO site for its landscape: here you walk straight through it, no fences and no tickets.
From Porta al Ciglio, in Pienza, the gravel road drops through the fields towards the Tresa stream and climbs gently back up to Monticchiello. Rows of cypresses, stone farmhouses, shepherds with their dogs and the crete: the clay hills, ploughed in September and green with wheat in spring.
It's about 6 km with 150 metres of climb, two hours' walking with stops. Monticchiello appears all at once at the top: the walls, the tower, and inside the village the Teatro Povero, which the villagers have written and performed themselves every summer for fifty years.
The gravel roads are public: you pay nothing. You walk back the same way, or take the school bus that links the two villages at a few times of day.
The stages
Easy timings, with stops for photos. It's a walk to take slowly.
- 0:00 · PienzaPorta al CiglioFrom Piazza Pio II to the gardens behind the cathedral, then down onto the gravel road. There's a fountain in the square to fill up.
- 0:30 · The TresaThe valley floorA little bridge over the stream, almost always dry in September. From here it starts to climb.
- 1:10 · The cypress avenueThe Val d’Orcia postcard shotThe uphill stretch lined with cypresses: the landscape off the posters, without the cars.
- 1:50 · MonticchielloThe wallsYou go in through Porta Sant’Agata. You can walk the whole village in twenty minutes: the church, the tower, the little square where the theatre plays.
- BackOn foot or by busThe same road in an hour and a half, or the Tiemme bus to Pienza (few departures, check first).
Getting there
Route on Google MapsYou can do it without a car: train to Buonconvento or Chiusi, then the Tiemme bus to Pienza.
What to know before you go
Four things people who live in the valley take for granted.
There's no shade on the clay hills. In September the best light is at 5pm, and so is the temperature.
Fountains in both villages; nothing in between. A litre each.
Gravel roads with stones and clay: after rain it sticks to your shoes and weighs a ton. In dry weather it's all easy.
The shops along the main street sell pecorino di Pienza aged in grape must or in hay. A free taste, nearly always.
Around Pienza
The Val d’Orcia: five UNESCO villages a few kilometres apart.
Nearby, on Twip
The path is free. If you want to step inside a cheese dairy, a wine cellar or the Teatro Povero, you book those on Twip.
Frequently asked questions about the walk
The things people ask us before they leave.
Is there anything to pay?
No: public gravel roads, open villages. Only the bus, if you take it, and what you eat.
Is it hard?
No: 6 km and 150 m of climb, almost all on gravel road. The sun is the only effort.
When is it at its best?
Late September and October with the clay hills ploughed; April and May with green wheat and poppies. Avoid July and August.
Can you do it without a car?
Yes, but there are few buses on Sundays. Saturday is the easiest day for public transport.
What about the Teatro Povero?
It's staged in late July and August in Monticchiello's little square. The rest of the year the village is silent, and that's part of the charm.
