Civitella paganico Paganico
The rich and well-documented history of Paganico gives visitors a faithful picture of what the hamlet was like in centuries past. Paganico was built by the Sienese to guard the Ombrone Valley, as an outpost on the hills leading to Siena. Later Paganico became a marquisate under Prince Antonio de Medici, and still today one can appreciate the evidence of the dominions that have followed one another over the centuries.
WHAT TO SEE IN PAGANICO
- Church of San Michele Arcangelo and its frescoes
Located in the historical centre of Paganico, the church is in late Romanesque style and belongs to the 13th century. Its façade remains simple, but inside you can appreciate numerous works of art, in particular the fresco of St. Christopher, dating back to the early fifteenth century and attributable to the Sienese school painter Biagio di Goro Ghezzi. - Piazza della Vittoria with medieval well
This splendid square houses the Church of San Michele Arcangelo and is somewhat of a meeting point for Paganico. Here there is also a characteristic medieval well that was (and still is) a cistern for collecting rainwater. - Walls around the perimeter of the old village
The walls mark the boundary of the historic centre of Paganico, which can be accessed through the four gates. The Sienese commissioned the construction of the walls in the second half of the 13th century, but they were not completed until 1335. - Medieval gates: Porta Gorella, Porta Grossetana, Porta Senese and Porta sull'Ombrone The four gates of Paganico have specific names: Porta Gorella took its name from a ditch that used to flow through it, called Gorellino, Porta Senese is the one that looks towards Siena, Porta Grossetana faces Grosseto, while the last gate faced the Ombrone river, but today it is completely destroyed.
DID YOU KNOW THAT...?
- Bianca Cappello, wife and lover of the Grand Duke of Tuscany Federico I de' Medici, lived for a time in the Cassero Senese of Paganico.
- Paganico saw the passage of the Knights Templar and there are some traces of their passage through the village. It is not easy to find out more, but it seems that the origin of the Church of San Michele Arcangelo has something to do with the Order of the Templars.
