Montepò Castle

7km from Scansano.

To be honest, it’s quite sad that this breathtaking castle is privately owned. Property of Biondi Santi, a family of wine makers, it was said to have inspired the British writer Graham Greene and is a rare example of the fortified Sienese villas that were built during the Renaissance.

In the 14th century, the castle belonged to the Counts of Cotone, a noble family that owned almost all of the surrounding countryside. In the 15th century though, it passed to the Sienese, who undertook their own renovations. After all, they could hardly resist owning such a beautiful castle in what is a pretty enviable stretch of countryside.

The long rectangular building is shaped around a courtyard and has four square towers. It’s hard to make out these details from outside the property walls, but it’s still possible to admire the beautiful shape of the building with its light stone walls and the way in which it sits between small hills and evergreen olive trees.

The view in this section of Scansano is beautiful too.