Piazza Grande & Palazzo Comunale
Montepulciano's beating heart sits at 605 metres above sea level, ringed by Renaissance palazzi and the unfinished travertine façade of the Duomo. Climb the crenellated tower of the Palazzo Comunale for a 360-degree panorama that stretches from Monte Amiata to Lake Trasimeno.
The Square Itself
Piazza Grande is the highest point in town and the stage for everything from the Bravio delle Botti barrel-race in August to quiet morning espressos. The well at its centre, attributed to Antonio Sangallo the Elder, is a masterpiece of Renaissance ironwork that most visitors walk straight past.
The Palazzo Comunale's façade was deliberately modelled on Florence's Palazzo Vecchio — a pointed political statement by a town that fiercely guarded its independence. Step inside the ground-floor loggia to see civic coats of arms carved in stone.
Climbing the Tower
The tower climb is steep and narrow but entirely worth it. On clear winter mornings the snow-capped peaks of the Apennines float above a sea of mist filling the Val di Chiana — one of the most quietly spectacular views in all of Tuscany.
Arrive just after opening time (around 10 am) to have the rooftop almost entirely to yourself before the day-trippers arrive from Pienza and Siena.
More of Montepulciano
Discover where to stay, what to do and the best deals for your trip.
Explore Montepulciano →
