Five centuries, nine generations. The Cipolla family has farmed this hilltop since before anyone was counting. In the 1990s, Vittorio and his wife Lorenza obtained organic certification, making Il Rigo one of the first organic farms in the Val d’Orcia. Today their daughter Luisa and her husband Matthias run the agriturismo. Vittorio and Lorenza can still be found pottering about the estate.
The Kitchen
Luisa is an award-winning pasta chef. Every evening she prepares a fixed four-course tasting menu that changes daily — traditional Tuscan farmhouse cooking from vegetables in the organic garden, grains from the farm, wild herbs, and seasonal local produce. Lorenza selects from a cellar of 60+ Tuscan wines, and she and Matthias lead comparative blind tastings that always include a Brunello.
Breakfast is a sweet and savoury buffet: local charcuterie, Pienza sheep’s cheese, homemade cakes baked with organic stone-milled flour, jams, sourdough bread, and fresh fruit. No packaged food. No processed food.
The Farm
Il Rigo covers 250 hectares, cultivated mainly with cereals and legumes in rotation. The estate has held organic certification continuously since 1990. No pesticides, no herbicides — which is why you’ll see bees, fireflies, birds, frogs, and small mammals everywhere. There is a bio-lake for swimming.
Luisa grows seasonal and organic cut flowers on the tough creta soil, mixed with wild herbs. Her arrangements have been described as “a hymn to joy.”
The View
The Cappella della Madonna di Vitaleta — one of the most photographed landscapes in Tuscany — is visible from the garden. The views sweep from Pienza to Radicofani, 360 degrees.
