# Cinematic Val d'Orcia from Rome by car: the Gladiator fields at Pienza, lunch in Monticchiello and Bagno Vignoni

Two and a half hours from Rome: the wheat track of the Elysian Fields in Gladiator, the Pienza square from The English Patient, pici in Monticchiello and the thermal pool from Nostalghia.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/italy/tuscany/val-d-orcia/itineraries/gladiator-and-english-patient-from-rome · Revisado: 2026-11-13

## El día
- 07:30 · Salida: 2 h 30 by car (Along the A1 northwards and minor roads towards Pienza)
- 10:00 · The Gladiator fields, from the Pieve di Corsignano to Terrapille (From the Pieve di Corsignano towards Terrapille · free · no shade)
  - 15 min by car, 9,3 km
- 13:00 · Osteria La Porta (Pici all'aglione on the terrace · booking · closed on Thursdays) · Osteria La Porta
  - 30 min by car, 13,1 km
- 15:30 · Bagno Vignoni and the Parco dei Mulini (The water square of Nostalghia and the Parco dei Mulini · free)
- 17:00 · Vuelta (Via San Quirico towards the A1; in Rome around 19:30)

The Val d'Orcia has appeared in many films, and three locations fit into a day from Rome. In the morning you walk along the wheat track of the Elysian Fields in Gladiator, at the foot of Pienza, and climb to the square where the end-of-war party in The English Patient was filmed. You have lunch on a terrace over the valley in Monticchiello, and in the afternoon stop at Bagno Vignoni, the village whose square is a thermal-water pool, where Andrei Tarkovsky filmed Nostalghia. No entrance fees to pay.

## The day, hour by hour

7:30 · Leave Rome. North on the A1 and minor roads towards Pienza. It takes about two and a half hours.

10:00 · The Gladiator fields. Park in Pienza and walk down to the Pieve di Corsignano, the Romanesque church on the outskirts. From there starts the dirt track that runs towards the Terrapille farm stay between cereal fields: it is the one in the film. Walk as much of it as you like and come back the same way, without going into the fields. Back in the village, go up to Piazza Pio II, the cathedral square, where the end-of-war party in The English Patient was filmed.

13:00 · Lunch at Osteria La Porta. In Monticchiello, beside the medieval gate. Ask for the terrace when you book. Pici all'aglione, bread gnocchi with sage or beef cheek in Vino Nobile. Closed on Thursdays.

15:30 · Bagno Vignoni. On the way down to San Quirico, the SP146 passes the Poggio Manzuoli estate, Maximus's house in Gladiator: it is private and from the gate you can only see the cypresses. Carry on to Bagno Vignoni, whose square is a great sixteenth-century pool of thermal water. It is the setting of Nostalghia. You cannot swim in the square, but you can go down to the Parco dei Mulini, where the water falls down the hillside.

17:00 · Return. Via San Quirico towards the A1. In Rome around half past seven.

## Is it for me?

For anyone who has seen Gladiator and wants to stand on the spot, and for anyone coming to the Val d'Orcia for the landscape who likes to know where they are looking. There is little walking: you make the Pienza track as long as you like. With children it works if they can manage a morning in the sun; bring a hat and water.

## Cómo llegar

### By car
It is the only sensible way to combine the three places in a day from Rome.

## Consejos

### Leave early
The Pienza track has no shade and the first light is best for photos.

### Respect the estates
Terrapille and Poggio Manzuoli are private. Take the photo from the track and from the gate.

### Book the terrace
At La Porta, ask for it specifically.

## Cuándo no ir

Thursday, if you want to eat at La Porta: it is their closing day. Swap it for a pecorino picnic from the Caseificio Cugusi.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### Where were the Gladiator fields filmed?
In the Val d'Orcia, at the foot of Pienza, on the track that runs from the Pieve di Corsignano to the Terrapille farm stay.

### What was filmed in Bagno Vignoni?
Nostalghia, by Andrei Tarkovsky, in the village's thermal-water square.

### Do you have to pay any entrance fee?
No. The track, the square in Pienza and Bagno Vignoni are free.

### When is the wheat golden?
At the start of summer, before the harvest. In spring it is green.