HISTORY

Lucignano d'Asso is living history, in the sense that it perfectly embodies the myriad unrecorded events of daily life that quietly shape rural reality over a period of many centuries. An eloquent testimony of the discreet dignity of tradition, this charming hamlet reveals how the past can be lovingly preserved as a source of inspiration for the future. To stay at Lucignanello Bandini, immersed in a landscape of gentle, undulating hills and deep, rich colors, to walk beside wheatfields that ripple in the breeze, to muse among the silver shimmer of olive groves is to enjoy the inner quietude that derives from renewed contact with activities whose rythms reflect those of the changing seasons.

Simple but rare pleasures of this sort accompany any sojourn at Lucignanello Bandini. For many visitors, it is an experience that brings new life and depth to the landscapes glimpsed in the Sienese paintings of fourteenth century. For what seemed to be a portrayal of symbols, of abstracted and idealized nature, turns out to be tangible reality.
Simone Martini and the Lorenzetti were painting what they saw: a magical landscape that has changed little to this day.

Though inhabited since Roman times, it was during the Middle Ages that Lucignano acquired its dinstinctive urban shape and architectural identity. A document drawn up in 1485 reveals that by that date the castle itself and the houses pertaining to it already belonged to the Piccolomini family, whose name is associated with numerous episodes in the social and religious history of Italy.
Despite such august beginnings, a quiet cordiality prevails both in the village itself and indeed in the sorrounding area. This is partly due to the natural courtesy of people whose lives have not lost the human touch; partly to an innate sense of scale, to the Renaissance conviction that man should be the measure of the universe in which he lives.

Daily life in this precious enclave of central Italy is still informed by the belief that a harmonious environment must underlie every civil society. At Lucignano this is evident in the care that has gone into creating confortable, well-appointed accomodation within a demanding historic context.

In the wider perspective, the same respect for context and detail is tangibly present in the neighboring towns of Montalcino and Pienza, both of which are clearly visible from the village. In 1555 Montalcino became the last bastion of the proud Sienese Republic before it succumbed to the Florentines and was absorbed into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. This accounts for its imposing fortress and the wealth of superb paintings and sculptures that make its beautifully renovated Museum such a remarkable attraction. As for Pienza, it was built between 1458 and 1462 at the behest of another Piccolomini, Enea Silvio, who decided to turn his home town into a jewel of Renaissance architecture when he became Pope Pius II (hence the name "Pienza").

Lucignanello Bandini
Località Lucignano d'Asso
53020 San Giovanni d'Asso - Siena (ITALY)
Tel: +39 0577 803068
Fax: +39 0577 803082
P. Iva 00169080520
E-mail: info@borgolucignanello.com