Buoncovento

The name Buonconvento comes from the Latin bonus conventus: a fortunate gathering of people who benefited from the land’s fertility and the advantages of being close to the rivers Arbia and Ombrone on the important Via Francigena. The Via Francigena, which went right through the village, brought wealth and significant buildings with it. Some carry the names of the old Sienese families that lived there, such as Palazzo Ricci Socini, a splendid example of Liberty-style (Art Nouveau) architecture that now houses the Museo di Arte Sacra della Val d’Arbia (Arbia Valley Museum of Sacred Art).
The ancient village of Buonconvento is surrounded by historic brick walls with hanging arches, built in 1379 by order of the Governors of Siena.

Originally the village only had two entries, at its northern and southern extremities: Porta Senese to the north and Porta Romana to the south, destroyed in 1944 by the retreating Germans.
The village remained intact for centuries, undergoing a large-scale transformation in the nineteenth century with the construction of new buildings next to the walls, including the Teatro dei Risorti.
The place has three important museums: the Museo d’Arte Sacra della Val d’Arbia, the Museo della Mezzadria Senese (Museum of Sienese sharecropping) and the Oratorio della Confraternita della Misericordia (Oratory of the Brotherhood of Mercy).