La Foce

La Foce, built at the end of the fifteenth century as an inn, quickly became the centre of an estate owned by the Santa Maria della Scala Hospital in Siena, which included granges, farms and vast lands. In 1924, it was purchased by Antonio and Iris Origo who made it their home and implemented an enlightened farm management method. The garden landscaped by the English architect, Cecil Pinset, provides historical proof of the architectural-cultural evolution of Tuscany. It stretches towards the Val d'Orcia and Mount Amiata, laid out in the Italian style and divided into geometric “rooms” by box hedges. Terraced slopes rise gently up the hill where cherry and cypress trees grow among broom, thyme and rosemary, while a long cypress avenue leads to a 17th century statue. A wisteria pergola winds along a travertine path towards the family cemetery, another Pinset masterpiece.