Tuscany · Siena
Trequanda
A village of 1,166 in three hilltop borghi between Crete Senesi and Val di Chiana, with the terracotta workshops of Petroio holding to a five-hundred-year craft.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 59 min from Siena
- By train
- Station in the comune
- Population
- 1,166
Known for
PETROIO TERRACOTTA
Five centuries of ornamental terracotta from a hilltop workshop tradition still active in Petroio.
OLIVE OIL
Città dell'Olio member; the surrounding hills sit in the Terre di Siena DOP production area for extra-virgin oil.
RURAL LANDSCAPE
Inscribed in 2018 on the national register of historic rural landscapes for its unbroken pattern of fields, oaks and stone borghi.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J9°
- F12°
- M13°
- A17°
- M22°
- J28°
- J32°
- A31°
- S25°
- O20°
- N14°
- D10°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Trequanda is three villages in one comune: Trequanda itself, Castelmuzio, and Petroio, scattered across the hills southeast of Siena. The first written record dates to 1198, when the Cacciaconti of Scialenga held it as fief; in 1211 Emperor Otto IV gave them the right to collect tolls. In 1553 the village was among the first to be annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The Cacciaconti castle still anchors the centro storico, the Pieve dei Santi Pietro e Andrea next to it, built from 1327 in a Gothic-Romanesque mix and renovated in the Renaissance. Petroio has produced fine ornamental terracotta since the early sixteenth century: lions and dogs and pineapples and chimney pots, the surface of half the gardens in central Tuscany. The municipality holds the Orange Flag from the Italian Touring Club and was inscribed in 2018 in the national register of historic rural landscapes.
The Sunday letter
Trequanda is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Trequanda comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Trequanda in our articles
The 6 best hidden towns with a serious restaurant that you can reach by train within 90 minutes of Perugia6 towns, Trequanda among them.
The best small towns with a serious restaurant in the province of Siena6 towns, Trequanda among them.
The best small towns you can reach by train in Toscana7 towns, Trequanda among them.
The best hidden olive oil towns you can reach by train within 90 minutes of Perugia9 towns, Trequanda among them.
How to get there
From Bologna (BLQ), about 2h 24m by car.
Florence / Pisa (PSA) is about 2h 38m away.
By car from the centre of Siena 59 minutes, Perugia 1 hour or Florence 1h 25m.
There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.
Coming from Florence, Rome or Bologna?
Coming by train into Perugia? Trequanda is about 1 hour away by road.
What to see
Castello dei Cacciaconti
Medieval fortress at the center of Trequanda, seat of the Cacciaconti di Scialenga from the twelfth century.
Pieve dei Santi Pietro e Andrea
Gothic-Romanesque parish church begun in 1327, expanded in the Renaissance, holding a fresco attributed to Sodoma.
Castelmuzio
Walled hilltop frazione between Trequanda and Pienza, on the rural landscape register, the smallest of the three borghi.
Petroio
Hilltop frazione at 486 meters, the terracotta center of the comune, with workshops continuing the craft from the early 1500s.
Museo della Terracotta di Petroio
Civic museum inside the Palazzo Pretorio of Petroio, with five centuries of local terracotta and reproductions of nearby towns.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Trequanda fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
Il Conte MattoRistorante
Il Conte Matto holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a Slow Food snail.
Fattoria del ColleAgriturismo
A Gambero Rosso listing, at Fattoria del Colle.
Living here
- Population 1,166
- Remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Bologna, 2 h 24 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 25 min drive
Common questions
- What is Trequanda known for?
- Trequanda is a village of 1,166 in three hilltop borghi between Crete Senesi and Val di Chiana, with the terracotta workshops of Petroio holding to a five-hundred-year craft.
- Where is Trequanda?
- Trequanda is a comune in the province of Siena, in Tuscany, at 453 meters above sea level.
- What is the nearest airport to Trequanda?
- Bologna (BLQ), about 2h 24m by car.
- Can you get to Trequanda without a car?
- Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
- How long is the drive from Siena to Trequanda?
- About 59 minutes by car.
- When is the best time to visit Trequanda?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Trequanda?
- Murlo, Pienza and San Quirico d'Orcia.
- How many people live in Trequanda?
- 1,166 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 453 m
- Population: 1,166
- Surface area: 63.98 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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