Casa dell’Abate Naldi

The house was built in the 17th century for Matteo Naldi, a Sienese scientist and scientific consultant to Pope Alexander VII Chigi. In 1684, it passed into the ownership of Angelo Simonelli, who probably helped Cardinal Flavio Chigi, the Pope’s nephew, with his collection of art masterpieces. The house is still inhabited today by descendants of the Simonelli family. Having never changed owners in 350 years, there are different elements, from wall decorations to furnishings to books, belonging to the last 3 centuries.

The house is a testimony to the Baroque period and the time in which the Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo III granted the entire town of San Quirico d’Orcia as a fief to the Chigi family, who still own a large part of the village today.

The entrance on the first floor is lit by a pair of large windows with leaded glass. The reception rooms are situated to the right and left of this entrance. When the doors are open, the view is remarkable, stretching from the large reception room overlooking Via Dante to the hanging garden on the opposite side, which is one of the house’s distinctive features and is connected to the building via three terraces. 

In the hall overlooking Via Dante, which retains its original 18th-century décor, chamber music concerts and other cultural events are held.