Republic square
Pitigliano begins with a well-preserved arch known as “La Porta”, which tells the story of the city’s greatest governors through their coats of arms. Have you noticed the suspicious, dog-like animal looking at you? It is believed to be a bear, symbol of the Orsini family, but the unknown Maremma sculptor had never seen a bear, so he had to make a hypothesis.
Follow via Cavour, bordered by 13 gigantic stone arches, which are the remains of the Medici aqueduct, built by the Orsini in the 16th century, at the request of citizens who asked for pure water. The water flowed from the aqueduct to two fountains located in Piazza della Repubblica. The fountain of the Seven Spouts is still visible today.
This fine example of Renaissance art includes a weary-eyed bear watching over the flowing water. At the other end of the square, a bronze statue by the modern sculptor Vinci pays homage to the most precious asset of the Pitigliano area, his donkey. It is called al villanu, a dialect word for “peasant”.
The Orsini palace dominates the square. The original 11th century fortress was a project by the Aldobrandeschi, built only to defend the
most discovered point of Pitigliano. When the Orsini took over the government, they transformed it into a real medieval castle. At the entrance, a statue
of a bear/lion hybrid commemorates the marriage that took place in the 13th century between Anastasia Aldobrandeschi and Romano Gentile Orsini. The statue once had an identical companion, who was destroyed during the riots against the law of the ius primae noctis, which allowed the Orsini counts to spend their wedding night with all their subjects. Go to the picturesque courtyard of the building with its Renaissance well to visit two museums in Pitigliano.

Palazzo Orsini Museum

The frescoed rooms of this museum house a collection of religious treasures. Among them are the solid gold door of a 16th-century tabernacle and a statue of the Madonna and Child by the Sienese artist Jacopo della Quercia. Sculpted on the facade of the palace are the words time, order, number, measurement, which were added by Niccolò Orsini (page 173) in the 15th century as a reminder to the Pitigliano people that, if they had acted correctly, their taxes would not have increased for 40 years.

archaeological Museum

With only four rooms, the nearby Archaeological Museum of Pitigliano is easy to visit and interesting enough to capture even the attention of children. Its most significant pieces are the large bucchero vases from the 7th and 6th centuries BC. C., used by the Etruscans to mix water and wine. After being fired without oxygen to obtain that unmistakable black colour, the vases were decorated with faces and floral motifs and coated with a lacquer that still shines today. At the center of the museum is a glass-walled room from where you can observe the archaeologists at work.

Old Town

The historic center of Pitigliano begins in via Zuccarelli with its small shops selling handcrafted tools, children’s toys and home-made preserves. Halfway up is the Romanesque cathedral of Pitigliano, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, whose statues stand guard at either end of the rather showy Baroque facade. Inside, the interesting mix of blue, orange and red tiles is an affront to the Pitigliano eye, but it has a certain amount of magnificence. Locals prefer the Church of Santa Maria, built in the 12th century and known colloquially as San Rocco, near the intersection of via del Corso and via Zuccarelli. Every August 16, the elderly women of Pitigliano celebrate the feast of their patron saint by baking large trays of biscuits to share with everyone in this churchyard. The facade of the church features a Gothic style bas-relief representing a nobleman with his hands in the mouths of two ferocious dragons, an image that symbolizes the power of spiritual strength against brute force.
Inside, the church has large arches, a high ceiling and a simple line that reflects the 12th-century belief that elaborate decorations would distract the faithful from the sermon. Above the altar there are nine coats of arms to commemorate the subsequent renovations; it is extremely rare for a church to host the coats of arms of bishops, let alone those of noble families. The largest insignia, in the centre, belongs to Pope Pius IX; to its right is that of the house of Lorraine, below that of the Medici, while above, that of the house of Savoy. The four coats of arms with green tassels belong to the local bishops.

Jewish ghetto

In the 16th century, Pitigliano became a safe haven for Italian Jews fleeing persecution from the nearby Papal State. In the following years, the community became an integral part of the city’s economy and culture, so much so that the Orsini counts defied papal law by refusing to put a gate on their ghetto. Abandoned shortly after the Second World War, the ghetto was transformed into an open-air museum in 1995. Now you can explore its picturesque streets on your own or on an hour-long guided tour. The community built its houses and shops directly on the tuff spur, so almost all the rooms are underground. They include the ritual bath, the kosher cellar, the butcher’s shop and the bakery with its original unleavened bread oven. At street level, the Jewish Museum displays ancient artifacts used during religious holidays, as well as circumcision tools
medieval paintings and prints of Jewish life in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Outside there is the splendid synagogue, originally built in 1598, then collapsed and rebuilt in 1995. On the ceiling, the 10 commandments were written in a free flowing blue letter.