Top of the World
The Palazzo Comunale of Montepulciano overlooks Piazza Grande. The building was built in the thirteenth century in Gothic style and renovated by Michelozzo during the fifteenth century. The similarity between the Palazzo Comunale of Montepulciano and the Palazzo della Signoria in Florence is impressive, it was personally commissioned by Cosimo I dei Medici. The ground floor is covered in ashlar, while the rest of the facade is in travertine. The battlements on the terrace are Guelph merlons. To see are the interiors with the well and the nineteenth-century tombstones. The Palazzo Comunale of Montepulciano is the seat of the town hall. From its tower you can observe a splendid panorama: on a clear day you can see, from the side of the Val di Chiana the pre-Apennine peaks, Perugia, the Subasio, Lake Trasimeno with its islands, and the lakes of Montepulciano and Chiusi. On the other side Monte Amiata, Val d'Orcia, Pienza, Monticchiello, Montalcino and in the distance, the towers of Siena.
