Castiglion del Bosco

[1] It is located in the comune of Montalcino in the province of Siena, Italy, within the Val d’Orcia nature reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Pietro and his brother, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, belonged to the Sienese School that flourished during the late Middle Ages and foreshadowed the art of the Renaissance.

[2] Archaeological excavations of the estate at Castiglion del Bosco revealed that it has been occupied from as far back as 600 BC, with the Etruscans prizing its elevated position as a military outlook.

It has been claimed that Cecilia Gallerani, was the subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting “The Lady with an Ermine” and a muse for the “Mona Lisa”.

[9] Castiglion del Bosco also bears the imprint of other Sienese families, one of whom brought here the artistic talents of Pietro Lorenzetti, whose fresco Annunciazione ai Santi (1345 AD) still adorns the tiny church of San Michele, located in the central part of the Estate.