Buonconvento – Walls, Museum and Via Francigena

Buonconvento combines medieval local history, a diverse museum and a section of the Via Francigena Toscana. If you would like to combine culture and longer journeys through the landscape during your trip to Tuscany, you will find several different points of interest here. The town also offers families a specific reason to explore together: the Museo della Mezzadria has educational activities for children.

Walls, Gate and Church

Buonconvento is still surrounded by town walls that were built in the late Middle Ages. This preserved boundary is a defining testimony to the town’s history and gives it a clear spatial framework. A particularly significant detail is the Porta Senese. It features a Sienese arch, Guelph merlons, and the coats of arms of Siena and Buonconvento. This structure therefore reveals both the connection to Siena and the town’s local identity. The Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo is also part of the cultural orientation. Its brick façade was redesigned in classical forms at the beginning of the 18th century. Buonconvento therefore presents different historical layers: the late-medieval town walls, the symbols on the Porta Senese, and a church whose exterior appearance was redesigned at a later date. For planning your day, this creates a compact cultural element that can be combined with a museum visit or a longer walk.

Rural History at the Museo della Mezzadria

The Museo della Mezzadria di Buonconvento documents the rural world, landscape and community of the Tuscan countryside up to the 1960s. The two-storey exhibition includes historical photographs, original objects, films, archival documents and multimedia stations. The subject is therefore presented from different perspectives rather than being conveyed solely through individual exhibits. For adults, the museum provides access to the region’s social and landscape changes. With children, you can also make use of the museum’s educational activities. The combination of photographs, objects, films and multimedia stations makes the exhibition varied, without requiring you to explore the town exclusively through its architectural history.

On the Via Francigena Toscana

The southern section of the Via Francigena Toscana passes through Buonconvento along the route from Ponte d’Arbia to San Quirico d’Orcia. It is suitable for long walks on foot or by bicycle. If you choose your accommodation based on the desired combination of sightseeing and active days, this route is an independent consideration alongside the walls, church and museum. The starting point of the stage can be reached via the Siena–Grosseto railway line, with Buonconvento railway station, as well as via bus route 112. You can therefore take these two connections into account when planning a trip that combines a cultural programme with a section of the Via Francigena.

Other Places for Your Tuscany Research

For further orientation, you can also visit Sovicille, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Piancastagnaio, Asciano, Badesse, Bibbiano, San Quirico D'orcia and Valiano.

For the higher-level travel overview: Siena.