Pitigliano is a fascinating village on tuff promontory. The Roman presence near the Etruscan ruins of necropolis, in the early 13th century it belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family. In 1293 the county passed to the Orsini family, and in 1604 Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, acquired all the Orsini possessions.
According to an ancient legend, the name of Pitigliano would have been derived by the combination of the Romans names Petilio and Celiano.
Pitigliano was called “Little Jerusalem” as was home to the Jews, possibly from the end of the fifteenth century, and became an important refuge centre for them in central Italy, making it possible to develop an exceptional relationship in living together and tolerance between the Jewish population and the Christians. In the 20th century for the slow and constant emigration of Pitigliano Jews towards cities and bigger centres, until the racial laws and persecution of the last World War accelerated the end of the community and the last little flame died with the closure of the Synagogue in 1960.
Today the old relationship continues in other forms: the ghetto, the Synagogue, the ritual baths, the Kosher oven, The Museum of Jewish Culture. Besides the historical aspect of the village it is also worth experiencing a typical Tuscan meal in the local “trattorias”, visit the craftsmen workshop or enjoying a wine or an oil tasting produced in the local area. Pitigliano is about 65 km from Il Pellicano Hotel.

To visit Sorano is to immerse oneself in the warm atmosphere embracing the whole history of humanity. In the course of a simple walk through the area, you wander from bronze age grottoes, Renaissance palaces, mysterious streets, and Etruscan necropolises, to dark subterranean passages of the imposing fortress, from the medieval village carved in rock to the leafy uncontaminated woods surrounding the village.
Here the Etruscans carved their monumental roads. It is a moving experience today to follow those roads, still full of magic - and permeated by a natural, archaic, and powerful sense of the sacred. This is a magic and hospitable land- volcanic and tranquil, wild and sweet. Here dwells something inexpressible and magnetic which preserves it from any form of pollution.
“The whole thing small and dainty in proportion, and fresh, somehow charming instead of impressive. There seems to have been in the Etruscan instinct a real desire to preserve the natural humour of life. And that is a task surely more worthy, and even much more difficult in the long run, than conquering the world or sacrificing the self or saving the immortal soul....” D.H. Lawrence, Etruscans Places.
Besides the historical aspect of the village it is also worth experiencing a typical Tuscan meal in the local “trattorias” and visit the craftsmen workshop.

Sovana is a beautifully and carefully conserved medieval village. The town centre was built during the Middle Ages next to a preexisting Etruscan necropolis. Sovana was ruled by the Aldobrandeschi family who built a magnificent castle here during the 11th century. During the medieval era, Sovana was a free municipality and the birthplace of Ildebrando di Sovana, who later became Pope Gregorio VII. After 200 years of freedom the town was placed under the control of the Orsini Counts, who already possessed the towns of Sorano and Pitigliano. Sovana remained this way until the 15th century, when the Siennese conquered the entire territory. In the mid- 16th century the Republic of Siena collapsed in spectacular fashion and Sovana fell into the waiting hands of the Medici, who incorporated it into the Gran Duchy of Tuscany.
Sovana was at its most breathtaking during the 11th and 12th centuries, a period when all the town’s splendid churches and public buildings were built and of which few remain today. The picturesque “Pretorio Piazza” is one of them and is today the heart of the town. Next to this lovely piazza are the “Pretorio Palazzo”, decorated with an array of coats of arms, the “Bourbon Palazzo del Monte”, and the “Church of Santa Maria”.
Besides the historical aspect of the village it is also worth experiencing a typical Tuscan meal in the local “trattorias”, visit the craftsmen workshop or enjoying a wine or an oil tasting produced in the local area.