The best running trails around Sinalunga

Tenuta La Fratta, a harmonious example of integration between architecture and landscape, revolves around the 16th-century villa attributed to Baldassarre Peruzzi, enriched by an Italian garden, an ancient well, and the Church of San Michele, which houses a fresco by Sodoma. It is also a symbolic place for the enhancement of the Chianina breed, of which it has been a historic selection center recognized since 1934.

The Collegiata di San Martino, in the center of Sinalunga, is an important church for the town's history. Externally, it presents simple lines, while the interior is richer, with various valuable works of art. It testifies to the religious and cultural life of the community over the centuries, remaining a landmark for the village to this day.

Tip: Have a coffee or an ice cream at Bar l'Angolo. The staff is friendly and cheerful, and there are shady spots under the trees.

La Fratta stands on what was once one of the most important roads of ancient Rome: the consular Via Cassia, and more precisely, halfway between the mansio (a sort of post station) Manliana and ad Mensulas. The first reliable reference to La Fratta dates back to 1208 in Giovanni Antonio Pecci's "Historical, Political, Civil, and Natural Memoirs of the Cities, Lands, and Castles Subject to the City of Siena." In the document, La Fratta is referred to as "Fratta di Bettacchino," belonging to a Count Gualfredi, certainly from a branch of the Scialenghi family. Pecci names him "Della Valle," but he may have simply been Count Gualfredi of Guardavalle, which during this period had the characteristics of a walled town and was the residence of the Podestà: a true center, therefore, and not simply a rural settlement. From the mid-13th century, a process of decline began, most likely triggered by involvement in a military action. Pecci reports, without further comment, the resolution of December 28, 1271, by which the General Council removed the Podestà's residence from Fratta. At that time, Fratta was ruled by Ugolino Tacco of the Pecorai family. Not content with simple banditry against travelers who happened to be within range, he decided to attack a castle of the Republic: that of Torrita. Siena responded; in 1285, he was captured, tried, and executed. Fratta passed into the hands of his young son Ghino, who, believing the sentence handed down to his father to be disproportionate, vowed revenge. Chronicles report that Siena's interventions became increasingly pressing, forcing him to flee to the Val d'Orcia. Followed by a number of loyal followers, he attacked and occupied the castle of Radicofani, giving rise to the legend of Ghino di Tacco: the bandit who robbed merchants and bankers, nobles and prelates, without distinction: as long as they were wealthy. The Fratta farm, still very extensive, included until the end of the last century numerous holdings between Bettolle and the mountains of Abbadia Sicille, assuming an important role, as a "farm," in the agricultural economy and rural society of this part of the Valdichiana, where, at least until the 1950s, agriculture represented the main source of income for the majority of the community. In terms of production, it is impossible to forget the breeding of Chianina cattle, since Fratta was one of the three farms called to form the first selection groups for this "breed," and many of the largest breeding herds come from this farm. These lands, artifices created by man with an orderly and evocative arrangement of the soil through the use of mixed cultivation: the typical small rectangles, often separated by rows of vines, and the respect for nature and the peculiarities of the territory and the environment, have long testified to the ideal of Italian history and natural integration. of man with the environment that surrounds him.

Sinalunga is a Tuscan municipality located on the hills between the Val di Chiana and the Valle dell'Ombrone. It has Etruscan origins and its historic center is characterized by crenellated walls, stone houses and picturesque alleys. The Collegiate Church of San Martino and the Praetorian Palace are worth a visit. Sinalunga is also known for the Chianina cattle breed, typical of the area.

Municipality in the province of Siena. The historic center perched at the top of the town is worth a visit.

A steep wall to get the old town of Sinalunga. Not long but quite strong, with an average gradient of 13%