Hidden Masterpieces around Siena, Italy
There is a real pleasure in exploring the out-of-the-way places in Tuscany, staying away from the tourist magnets and spending time in the small hill-towns and villages of rural Tuscany. As an added bonus, some of these towns have their own museums where you can find some absolute treasures, alterpieces, nativity scenes and triptychs that wouldn't be out of place in the Uffizi, London's National Gallery or in New York's Metropolitan.
Here's an incomplete list of some of my favourite small museums in the province of Siena, in Tuscany.
Museum of Palazzo Corboli in Asciano
This Museum is in the small town of Asciano, in a building originally constructed for the powerful Sienese family of the Bandinelli, in the thirteenth-century. Today it houses a collection of work from that same period, as well as some archeological pieces from Etruscan Necropolis and from Roman Thermal baths of nearby Rapolano.
It's a perfect illustration of why I'm a fan of these smaller museums: some of the pieces are absolute masterpieces and you'll get to enjoy them without the crowds in the large and famous museums of Florence.
One of the most remarkable is the "Birth of the Virgin with other scenes from her life" by the Maestro dell'Osservanza. 1428-39.
This work shows an early use of central perspective, a method first employed only a few years earlier by Masaccio to give the impression that the viewer is gazing into a scene rather than at a flat board. Here we're looking into a series of domestic scenes that the painter has imagined might have surrounded the birth of the virgin Mary. The mother, on the right and with a halo, is Saint Anne, who has just given birth to Mary, the future mother of Christ. The man with a halo on the left of the painting is Saint Joachim, Mary's father.
There is a triptych of the same scene by the same painter in the National Gallery in London, so it's a real pleasure to be able to see a work of this calibre in this small museum.
Other works to look out for include a wooden crucifixion by Giovanni Pisano, a Madonna with Child by Segna di Bonaventura, and another by Lippo and Federico Memmi.
A wall in Pisé
There is also a rare example of a Pisé wall in room nº9. Pisé is a construction method also known as rammed earth, once widely used, particularly in Provence. It's unusual to see a surviving example in Tuscany.
Museo Civico Archeologico e d’Arte Sacra Palazzo Corboli
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///among.positives.washy
Address Corso Matteotti, 122, Asciano
Tel. +0577 714450 / +39 348 0847875
website: museo-civico-archeologico-e-darte-sacra-palazzo-corboli/
Opening Times
From 1 April to 31 October
Open all days except Tuesdays: 10-13 | 15-19
From 1 November to 31 March
Open on Saturday, Sunday and Holidays: 10-13 and 14-17
San Galgano Museum in Chiusdino
A collection of mainly local artworks dedicated to San Galgano, the knight-turned-hermit who was canonised in 1186 and whose nearby hermitage gave rise to the spectacular Abbey of San Galgano, today a roofless venue for classical summer concerts.
The museum is currently showing the Reliquary of San Galgano, a stunning work of goldsmithery thought to have been made by a local artist in the mid-fourteenth-century. Stolen in 1989, it has been recovered, restored and, while currently showing in Chiusdino, will be moved back to Siena at some point in the future.
There are other beautiful pieces, including this "Madonna and child" by Niccolò di Segna, painted in 1336 for the Hermitage of Montesiepi, San Galgano's place of retreat.
Museo di arte sacra di San Galgano
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///queried.insurers.narrate
Address: Via Umberto I n. 19, 53012 Chiusdino
Opening Times
Everyday 11:30 - 18:00
Sacred Art Museum of Pienza
Pienza is a striking town, remodelled by Pope Pius II into a vision of an ideal city as designed by the architect Bernardo Rossellino. The museum is just off the main square of the town and has some beautiful pieces, including a remarkable embroidered work with detailed scenes of both human life and animals.
Palazzo Borgia – Museo Diocesano
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///bronzer.forestry.bulge
Address: Corso Il Rossellino, 30, Pienza
Tel. +39 0578 749905
email: [email protected]
Opening Times
1 April - 2 November
Every day 10:00 - 14:00 then 14:30 - 18:30
Museum of Casole d'Elsa
The village of Casole d'Elsa is a wonderful place in Tuscany and its small museum has some real gems in it. The village was important in Etruscan times and there are plenty of finds from nearby excavations. There are also some beautiful works by Alessandro Casolani, a local renaissance painter of some renown. But the masterpiece has to be the small head of a prophet caught in full oratorical flow sculpted by Marco Romano, a remarkable work from this sculptor who was working in the early fourteenth century.
Museo Civico Archeologico e della Collegiata
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///evocative.eagles.milling
Address: Piazza della Libertà, 5, Casole d’Elsa
Tel. +39 0577 948705
email: [email protected]
Opening Times:
from Easter to 1 November
every day 10:00- 13:00 and 15:00 - 18:00
Museum of San Pietro in Colle val d'Elsa
This is a relatively new museum in Colle val d'Elsa, along the road that leads from Porta Nuova, or Porta Volterrana, into the old city centre. If you're visiting Colle there is plenty to see beyond the museum, starting from the old city gates and on to the beautiful bridge over a gorge that leads into the old fortified city-centre, straight through a remarkable palace designed by Giuliano di Baccio d’Agnolo in the mid-fifteenth-century.
There are several worthwhile pieces in Colle val d'Elsa's new museum, including a crucifix by Marco Romano, the remarkable fourteenth-century sculptor whose work is also in Casole d'Elsa. There is also a Madonna enthroned with child, attributed to an unknown local artist referred to as the Master of Badia a Isola, a beautiful Abbey on the route to Siena.
Museo San Pietro
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///strange.premises.draw
Address: Via Gracco del Secco, 102, Colle di Val d’Elsa
Phone: +39 0577 286300
email: [email protected]
Opening Times
From 1 March to 31 October,
Every day except Wednesday: 11:00 to 17:00
Sala d'Arte of Castiglione d'Orcia
The fortified tower of Castiglion d'Orcia is a remarkable sight for those travelling along the Val d'Orcia, once part of the great pilgrimage route from Northern Europe down to Rome. The tower is called "La Rocca di Rentennano" and is worth a visit just for the amazing views. In the small village this tower once protected there is a tiny museum called the "Sala d'Arte San Giovanni" which house works by famous artists like Simone Martini, Lorenzo di Pietro detto il Vecchietta and Giovanni di Paolo.
The "Madonna with child" by Simone Martini is a touching version of the many contemporary examples of this scene, with loving gazes and the small detail of a swift gently held in the hand of the infant Jesus.
Sala d’Arte San Giovanni, Castiglione d'Orcia
Map position on WhatThreeWords: ///bamboos.sunk.underpin
Address: Via S. Giovanni, 15, 53023 Castiglione d'Orcia.
Phone: +39 392 0033028
Opening Times:
Sat and Sun from 16:00 - 18:00
Author: Dan Wrightson
Dan Wrightson grew up in Tuscany, Italy and has been writing about, sketching and exploring Tuscany and Italy since 1983.
17th Mar 2025 17th Mar 2025