VILLAGE OF ASCIANO

Asciano is a marvellous town under the municipality of Siena, in the Tuscany region. The town is located just between the River Ombrone and the Torrent Copra, at the center of Crete Senesi: a particular and very suggestive hill area on the south-eastern side of Siena, almost bare of vegetation, but plenty of alternating coves and "biancane" (typical clayey, porous and light-coloured soil), that seem to create a moonscape. From the Middle Age, this area was known as "Deserto di Accona" where today, thanks to some important irrigation works, it is possible the cultivation of wheat and sunflowers.Asciano has Etruscan and Roman origins: you will in fact be able to admire a fascinating Etruscan necropolis, dated back at the V century BC and the remains of Roman baths. The town used to be contended between Siena and Florence in the Battle of Montaperti, until 1285, when it was conquered by Siena and surrounded by boundary walls in 1351, in order to protect it from further invasions.