Gargonza

Located in the communal territory of Monte San Savino, the little and ancient medieval town of Gargonza, charming and beautiful location, is collected on top of a little green hill in the heart of Valdichinana. It is a village that has perfectly maintained its unaltered medieval appearance and is one of the best conserved in its class in Tuscany and in Italy. The tiny inhabited center is closed in by a 13th-century wall that was widened in the 15th century and culminates in a tower and in a small piazza, which you reach from Porta Senese, and on which faces a Romanesque parish church with bell tower and double lancet window dedicated to Saints Tiburzio and Susanna. But the past of this little oasis of peace was characterized by a series of tragedies. In the Middle Ages, in fact, Gargonza, like many other small fortresses of the zone, because of its strategic position between the Valdichiana and the Sienese, was the object of dispute between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. Besides this, it is linked to the arrival of its most famous visitor, the outstanding poet, Dante Alighieri, who arrived here in 1302 to participate in a meeting between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. From Valdichiana, however, he left a citation both in Inferno and in Paradiso, remembering it “for its stench and slow movements”. It’s not just from the environmental point of view, the scenery of Gargonza that we admire was not as pleasant as it is today: the high wooded grounds that are home to the pretty land, which was, a long time ago, surrounded by unhealthy and stagnant waters, which were then drained between the 17th and 18th century, a period from which the old rural buildings present in the surrounding area remain. Starting from then, the story of Gargonza was that of an active farming village linked to sharecropping. In the years after Second World War it began to decline and became depopulated. During the 1970’s the town was completely reconstructed by Count Roberto Guicciardini-Corsi-Salviati, who made it into a refined agritouristic center, and it became a destination much appreciated by those who love to spend a vacation in complete relaxation. For years, Gorganza has turned its activities toward valuing tradition and landscape, thus promoting quality tourism, moved by the sense of serenity offered when staying in the antique habitations, which are made available to tourists.