Trequanda

The village of Trequanda is situated on the border between the Val d’Orcia and the Crete Senesi. The name derives from the etruscan toponym Tarkonte, mythical Etruscan hero or by “quandam terram” a certain, particular land.

Certainly the first settlements were Etruscans as demonstrated by archaeological finds and the names of the places (Cennano, Sicille, Malcensis, ACE) to then pass by the roman domination to that of the Lombards and the Franks. Historical documents of the 1198 speak for the first time Trequanda, feud of the Cacciaconti of Scialenga, family of origin franco-salica to which the emperor Otto IV in 1211 conferred the permission to collect gabelle toll in court and in the land of Trequanda. For its dominant position was still the interference of the Republic of Siena in matters trequandine until in 1255 imposed its jurisdiction. At the time of the war between Florence and Arezzo The castle was the refuge of the Ghibellines and after the defeat of Arezzo in the battle of Campaldino in 1289 the Guelfa Siena threatened to shave to ground the Castle. Transferred from the Cacciaconti the Franzesi of Staggia in 1309 to 18,000 lire, the castle passed definitively under the Sienese Balzana. In 1552 it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Important are the production of terracotta (Petroio) and breeding, in the wild, of chianina cattle. Mainly agricultural, Trequanda is transformed in recent years into a center of holidays and rest with equipped farmhouses and holiday homes. The foods of the place still retain their ancient flavor; from the bread without salt birds with cacio (pecorino cheese) to panunto (bruschetta) to pork sausages etc. Pride of the local cuisine is the extra virgin olive oil, fruit of the particular habitat in which are cultivated in the whole municipal territory, olive groves.