The History of Borgo di Recenza

The Borgo di Recenza was born as an ancient Etruscan settlement and its presence was first attested around the year 1000, but it was not until 1262 that it was mentioned in the Statute of the Municipality of Siena.

The Borgo developed around the ancient Pieve di San Giovanni Battista-one of the first in the Val di Merse territory-that was even mentioned in the papal bull of Clement III in 1189 and owned by the Ardengheschi.

The life of the Borgo di Recenza underwent alternating events in connection with the history of the neighboring Sienese state. During this period a number of Sienese families alternated in the possession of these places. From an 1833 census we know that it was included in the vicariate foraneo of S. Lorenzo a Merse and that about 200 people lived there. During the 20th century, and especially after World War II, the Borgo suffered the usual phenomenon of depopulation and slowly came to assume its present state.

In the center of the Borgo stands the Manor House of Lombard origin, which - during the Renaissance period - was transformed into a villa with an attached agricultural estate.

At the end of the 18th century it became one of the properties of the governor of the city of Siena at the time of Napoleon, and at that time, following its extensive renovation, it took on its present appearance. In particular, the renovation highlighted its splendid neoclassical façade, characterized by alternating rows of real and fake windows arranged above marcadavanzali cornices and the two opposing flights of stairs, which-at the time-connected the stately home with the farm.

The villa was later defined by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities as “a rare fine example of a farmhouse villa, as it came to be configured in the late 18th century, which still survives in its original state,” to the point of being qualified as a historic home on 1/28/2010.