Byways in southern Tuscany . ime to take refuge in the tower withhis wife and a handful of followers, where they shut them-selves up and defended themselves while their otherstrongholds in the neighborhood were taken or surren-dered. At last they were forced to make terms, they cameforth, and Cocco Salimbeni with his wife and familytogether with much household goods and a good bit ofmoney went away to Montepulciano and then to Florence,despoiled of all his castles. This was the last siege these castles were destined tosuffer until Cosimo came, and the Orcia Valley was terriblyfought over durin
Byways in southern Tuscany . ime to take refuge in the tower withhis wife and a handful of followers, where they shut them-selves up and defended themselves while their otherstrongholds in the neighborhood were taken or surren-dered. At last they were forced to make terms, they cameforth, and Cocco Salimbeni with his wife and familytogether with much household goods and a good bit ofmoney went away to Montepulciano and then to Florence,despoiled of all his castles. This was the last siege these castles were destined tosuffer until Cosimo came, and the Orcia Valley was terriblyfought over during all the unhappy time occupied in sub-duing the Sienese territory, so that to this day it showsthe scars of those cruel years. As the armies rangedback and forth destruction became so complete that manya remote village perished utterly and the very memory ofit was blotted out. The soldiers were wont to complainbitterly that there was no more booty worth collecting,and that to secure but a single cow they must travel for 124. Ripa dOrcia. BYWAYS IN SOUTHERN TUSCANY miles. For example, Pienza was fifteen times sacked, andat last Cosimo himself realized the danger that the wholecontado might be depopulated, so lest he should findhimself in the position of the conqueror of an uninhabitedterritory, he actually began to bribe the remnant of thefleeing population to return. When his general, DonGarzia, sent a force to take Castiglione dOrcia they foundthe town abandoned and entered it. Pecci says, Withtwo or three shots of their cannon having scared thecastellan, they took the rocco. Agostino and GirolamoVescovo were inside, both equally mean of soul, and weremade prisoners. Out of pure cowardice Agostino fell The flight of an arrow from Castiglione is RoccaTintinnano, unassailable as if cut out of the living this was one of the Piccolomini who was so frightenedby the fate of the two Vescovi that he yielded almostwithout defending himself. From Castiglione the road lead
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecttuscany, bookyear1919
