The magnificent curving Gothic façade of the Palazzo Chigo-Saracini is in part a travesty, the result of 'restoration' in the 18th and 19th centuries to re-create the medieval feel. From the tower, which is the genuine article apart from its brick crenellations, they say a young boy with particularly good eyesight watched the Battle of Montaperti in 1260 and shouted down details of the home side's progress against the Florentines to eager crowds in the streets below.
(The palazzo is the headquarters of Accademia Musicale Chigiana).
