Casa dell’Abate Naldi is located in San Quirico d’Orcia, 40 km south of Siena along the route of the Via Francigena – the old pilgrim route to Rome.
It was built in the XVII century by Matteo Naldi, senese physician, scientist and personal doctor of pope Alessandro VII Chigi. In 1684 the house became property of Angelo Simonelli, an art expert. He was the nephew of Nicolò Simonelli, the curator of the art collections of the Chigi and Pamphili families in Rome. Angelo moved to San Quirico following Cardinal Flavio Chigi when Cosimo III de’Medici honoured him with the title of marquis.
In the late XVIII century the surname of Giorgio Santi was added to the Simonelli one. Giorgio Santi was a naturalist, friend of Diderot and Benjamin Franklin, member of the parisian enlightenment society of “the 9 Sisters” while serving as minister the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. He died without heirs and therefore left his surname and properties to the relatives of his wife, Anna Simonelli.
The first floor entrance is marked by a pair of windows with leaded glass. The reception rooms are located on either side of the hall. When the doors are open the visual effect is remarkable. From the main drawing room, which looks out towards the main street, we can also enjoy the view of the hanging garden located in rear of the house. The Italian-style hanging garden is one of the main features of the house and it’s connected to the building by three terraces.
In the main hall, looking on via Dante, that still maintains the original decor of the XVI Century, the current owners organize chamber music concerts. Furthermore, they have started, in 2010, a music festival –Musica negli Horti– with the artistic direction of Maestro Gianluca Capuano.
Since 2013 Casa dell’Abate Naldi has hosted Gli Archi Culinary School, where Lorenza teaches cooking classes and organizes dinners and tastings, sharing her love for traditional recipes.
THE PROPOSALS OF CASA DELL'ABATE NALDI
Casa dell’Abate Naldi was built in the seventeenth century on behalf of Matteo Naldi, a Sienese scientist, archiatrist of Pope Alexander VII Chigi. In 1684 it passed into ownership to Angelo Simonelli, collaborator of Cardinal Flavio Chigi, nephew of the pope, and has remained with his family ever since.
Come and visit Lorenza, she will take you on a journey through time, discovering the stories of the characters who lived in this house. You will see how the architecture, furnishings and decorations have been stratified over time, from the lounge to the hanging garden to the small tower from which you can enjoy a unique view of San Quirico and the Valdorcia.
GUIDED TOUR
duration: about 1 hour
€18 per person for groups <8 people
€12 per person for groups of at least 8 people
VISIT AND TASTING OF 3 ORCIA WINES
duration: an hour and a half
€25 per person
It is also possible to book a stay at Agriturismo Il Rigo in the center of the family’s agricultural property.
The owners of Casa dell’Abate Naldi will send you by post a postcard hand-drawn by Roberta Vegni, to be placed under the Christmas tree as a gift.
Get ready to prepare some amazing traditional Tuscan recipes with Lorenza at Casa dell’Abate Naldi, and then lunch is served in the old kitchen by the large fireplace or in the outdoor courtyard in fine weather.
Participants are given a copy of the recipes prepared, an apron and anything else necessary. If there are special requests, such as a preference for a recipe or food intolerances, we ask you to report it at the time of booking.
COOKING CLASS AND LUNCH duration: 4 hours
- €70 per person (min 4, max 6 people)
- Private and personalized lesson: 220€ for 2 people | 300€ for 4 people
The menu is prepared with fresh and seasonal ingredients and always includes a type of fresh pasta (pici, tagliatelle, ravioli, gnocchi, lasagna). During the course, you will learn the techniques used, what can be done in advance and how to understand and interpret what is written in the recipes with the help of all your senses: touch, sight and smell.
The cooking class starts at 10.30 am and lasts about 3 hours, plus time for lunch and a visit to the house.
FROM FLOUR TO PASTA duration: 2 hours
120€ for 2 people | 180 € for 4 people
Do you want to learn how to make the famous Tuscan pici pasta? Or do you prefer ravioli? Lorenza will prepare with you a kind of fresh pasta of your choice which will then be served with a glass of Orcia DOC. And finally… of course, Cantucci and Vinsanto.
Come with your children: the experience is the experience is suitable for children from 6 years.
RETURN TO SEMPLICITY
A paradise for the lover of scenery, culture and gastronomy
The agritourism Il Rigo was born in 1990 in the farm houses and lands that have belonged to our family for nine generations. It is open to all travellers who wish to discover an authentic Tuscan dimension, made of respect for the land, for its historical culture and for its traditions.
The inn is furnished as a house, reusing the old furniture of the farm, some of which are real antiques. From all of our rooms you can enjoy a priceless view on the Tuscan hills, The sight hugs Val d’Orcia, from the nerby Pienza up to Radicofani, an invite to spend your stay unhurried, a little out of the world but a few kilometers away from little art cities, renowned wineries and nature trails.
We offer to our guests breakfast and dinner, prepared using vegetables from our biologic garden, our stone-ground flours and local and seasonal products. Il Rigo is an organic farm, we do not use pesticide and herbicides on the 300 hectares of our farm, thus granting biodiversity and the survival of may inhabitants of this ecosystem, such as bees, fireflies, birds, frogs and small mammals.
LORENZA TELLS US ABOUT HER GARDEN
The garden of Casa dell’Abate Naldi is part of the system of vegetable gardens inside the medieval walls of San Quirico which had to guarantee the sustainment of the population in case of siege. When the house was built in the XVII century, the walls of the preexisting houses were used and the hill on the back of the house was excavated to create a court and the garden above. Therefore, the garden lays at the same level of the noble floor, from which there is direct access and this is the peculiarity: a proper garden, with trees and bushes, which seamlessly continues the inhabited spaces.
Here is described in the words of Lorenza Santo Cipolla
LORENZA AND VITTORIO CIPOLLA
An underground vein of attention to the Arts has unraveled over the centuries and has remained in the House. Vittorio and Lorenza have chosen to live in the family home, whom they love very much, to preserve it and in the hope of passing it on to future generations. The mansion was part of a large agricultural property. After the end of the sharecropping Vittorio, with a University Degree in Agriculture, took over the management of the company, which he called Il Rigo from the name of the first plot of land that passed under his direction, first modernizing it and later transforming it into an organic farm, one of the first in the Valdorcia to make this choice. Lorenza had just graduated in agriculture when she met Vittorio, and from the very beginning she encouraged and supported the choice of organic farming which in those years was beginning to be recognized and certified at a European level.
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