How to reach
The Tarugi Tower is located in the southern part of the municipality of Pienza. Driving along the SS2 towards Radicofani, past the locality of Gallina, you turn left onto the SP40 towards Chianciano Terme. After about 5 km, turn right onto the SP53; the tower is now an agritourism.
History
Perched atop a small hill in the heart of Val d'Orcia Valley, this tower is made of stone and stands alone with no other buildings in the vicinity. Not much is known about the history of this ancient building other than the fact that it was a tower for the defence of the border, rising almost in the territory of Sarteano, and of the Via Francigena, being connected by sight to the Radicofani Fortress. From the architecture, its origin seems to date back to the medieval period, around the 12th century. It was converted into a farmhouse and used, from 1700 onwards, as temporary accommodation for sharecropper families who had been driven from their homes.