Why getting married in Siena is a great idea
If you want to get married in Italy, Siena is the perfect location for your special day. It has breathtaking views, romantic settings, olive groves, and vineyards. Curious to learn more about getting married in Siena, about sightseeing and activities you can’t miss? You are in the right place!
Weddings in Siena
Siena offers an amazing romantic setting for your wedding ceremony.
For your civil wedding, you can choose the gorgeous Consistory Hall in the Palazzo Pubblico – the local Public Hall. It is located right in the center of Siena in the medieval Piazza del Campo.
If you want to get married in a church, Siena offers many locations you will love, full of art and history.
Best wedding locations in Siena
As a wedding planner, I am always happy when my couples choose Siena. I know how impressive the landscapes here are and how the locals go above and beyond to make your wedding day truly unique and memorable.
Let’s explore some amazing wedding venues for your ceremony and reception now!
1. Borgo San Felice
This wedding venue was originally an ancient Tuscan village set in the hills of the Chianti classico region near Siena. It became a luxury hotel in 1992. Yet, it managed to keep both the modern luxuries and a medieval spirit.
A fairy tale wedding ceremony can be organized here. You will have for yourself the charm of an ancient village, the vineyards, and the olive trees.
For Catholic weddings, there are also two churches in the village: the VIII century Romanesque Parish Church and the XVIII century Magdalene Chapel.
2. Borgo Santo Pietro
Borgo Santo Pietro is a 5-star boutique hotel and estate, with Michelin-starred restaurants, a spa, and an extensive working farm with landscapes that will surprise you and your guests.
They respect nature so much they even built a restaurant around a secular tree. You can take cooking classes, get skincare treatments. Not into it? Simply do the dolce far niente – sweet doing nothing by the pool, admiring the scenery.
3. La Foce
La Foce is located in Val d’Orcia, one of the UNESCO World heritage sites. It has lovely woods and clay hills nearby. The food in this area is among the best in Tuscany. In the local cellars, you can taste famous wines like Vino Nobile or Brunello.
It has a historical villa surrounded by houses that can host your guests. Its particularity is a lovely geometrical Italian garden that will make your wedding photos shine.
Check the wedding of Rose&Dimitri that took place at La Foce.
4. The Abbey of Saint Galgano
This is one of the most spectacular Italian wedding venues with an amazing history.
This Cistercian Abbey was built in 1324, and it is a very important place in the art and history of Siena. The Monastery of San Galgano began to decline during the 15th century, and the title of Abbey was taken from it.
The place gradually became abandoned. In 1786 the vaults and the steeple fell to the ground. The ruins remained that way, making this place suggestive and unique. You can have a civil wedding here, and the entire abbey can become the place of your wedding party.
If you love the place but you want a Catholic wedding, you can have it at the nearby San Galgano Chapel, located at walking distance from the Abbey. It has a lovely story too about a warrior who became a saint.
According to the legend, Galgano, a brave knight who lived there at a certain point realized he was tired of violence. When he decided to become a religious man, he took his sword and stuck it in a rock to make it become a cross in front of which he could pray. You can still admire the sword in this chapel.
5. The Vitaleta Chapel
This wedding location is probably one of the most photographed churches in Tuscany. It is a World Heritage site by UNESCO.
It used to host a Renaissance statue of the Madonna made by Andrea della Robbia in 1590. Now it can become one of the most picturesque locations where you can make your wedding photos. Your photographer will surely love the light there too!
There are many luxury accommodations and peaceful holiday villas in the surroundings. Choose it to enjoy cypress trees, good wine, and Renaissance art.
Curious to learn more about Siena? Let’s do it!
Things you probably didn’t know about Siena
Location for famous movies
This area is filled with history and traditions and it was the scene of many famous movies. Remember the iconic scene in the “Gladiator” with the field of wheat? It was filmed in this area, not far from Pienza.
Some other movies with these amazing scenic locations are 2008 James Bond called “Quantum of Solace”, “The English Patient”, and “Letters to Juliet”.
The Siena color
The artists who are reading this are probably familiar with the origin of the Sienna color.
For everybody else, this earth yellowish-brown pigment that becomes reddish-brown when heated originates from the city of Siena. It was produced during the Renaissance and widely used by artists ever since.
This is the color of the soil in this area, something unique you won’t be able to see in other areas. It will make your wedding photos really special.
How to arrive to Siena
Florence, Perugia, Pisa, Bologna, Genoa, and Rome are the closest airports to reach Siena, in this order.
Pisa is the most popular airport for European flights within Europe, while Rome is where most US and Canadian visitors arrive to.
By car it will take you 2h45 minutes from Rome, 1 hour from Florence, 1h30 min from Pisa and 1h30 from Perugia to reach Siena.
Must-see in Siena and nearby
Unmissable places to visit in Siena
The Siena area hosts some better preserved medieval towns in Italy. First, take your time to explore Siena and its history. If you are lucky and you get here during Palio – one of the most famous horse racing competitions in the world, you can witness an amazing historical event. It has taken place since 1633!
Otherwise, there are still so many things to do! Go to the main square of the city: Piazza del Campo. From here you can explore the Palazzo Pubblico. Don’t miss the Mangia tower. It requires climbing 400 steps but it offers a breathtaking view over the valley.
The local Duomo hosts art pieces by Donatello, Pisano, Michelangelo, and Pinturicchio. Don’t miss the astonishing Libreria Piccolomini decorated with frescoes by the best Renaissance illustrators.
San Gimignano
This UNESCO World Heritage site is one of the first preserved medieval towns in Italy. It is also called the town of the towers. There used to be 72 of them, now only 17 are still standing. This is the closest to the skyscrapers you can get in Italy.
Why did they build so many towers? In the Middle Ages, every opulent Italian family was supposed to build a symbol of their family, usually a tower.
San Gimignano was a very rich town with many wealthy families, each one of them trying to impress the neighbors… and us, centuries later!
Montepulciano
Montepulciano is famous for its wine and recently for the fact that the “New Moon” movie was filmed here. It also has a tower to climb, an unfinished Duomo cathedral.
Don’t miss the underground city that goes all the way to the Etruscans who used to live in this area.
Pienza
Pienza is a small medieval village, also UNESCO World heritage. It is considered the city of the best pecorino cheese and… one of the most romantic Italian villages. Why? Because of the street names.
Imagine making a wedding proposal in Via dell’Amore (love street) and kissing in Via del Bacio (kiss street). In Pienza, you can do both!
I wrote more about these places and others, like Monteriggioni, in my blog post about 5 amazing Tuscan villages.
Activities you can do near Siena
Wine tasting
You can take a wine tasting tour, or just drive through the route of wine. Stop at the wineries you like and enjoy what they have to offer.
If you decide to take the Chiantigiana, a road that leads from Florence to Siena, you will discover it is full of vineyards, olive groves, cypress trees lined on the rolling hills, and lots of opportunities for wine tasting.
Trekking
Siena area is part of the famous pilgrims’ road – via Francigena but there’s more than that.
It still has many uncontaminated trekking routes you will certainly enjoy, like river Farma canyons or the lovely route to Monticiano.
Relax and enjoy the views
You can also enjoy one of the many agriturismo in the area, where you can just spend your day by the swimming pool enjoying the views, or walking through the olive trees or sunflowers.
If you feel like you need a break and want to reconnect with yourself and nature, there’s nothing better than the Siena area.
Fly over Val d’Orcia on a hot air balloon
Do you want to do something special you will remember for a long time? This is it! Seeing Tuscany and Val d’Orcia fields from a new, unique point of view is certainly a great idea!
Did you fall in love with the Siena area after this blog post? I certainly did, once again.
Would you like to get married here or just visit it?
Let me know in the comments!