This article is part of the Complete Guide to Photography in Tuscany
Tuscany is an incredible destination for photography. The landscape is beautiful and varied, and the villages contain cosy street scenes and intricate details around every corner. Plenty of photographers have explored Tuscany, and there are now famous compositions of particular valleys and certain villas. However, there is also a lot to explore and endless opportunities to set off down a gravel road and discover something new for yourself.
I recommend dedicating plenty of time on a photography trip to Tuscany searching for unique scenes, and you’ll find places to create original compositions all over the landscape. However, it often helps to build on existing research and capture some established locations as a place to start.
This is a list of the great photography locations in Tuscany, mostly clustered around the landscape photography highlight of Val d’Orcia. This list features the most popular locations, where you are likely to find some great compositions, and these spots all have enough variety that you can be creative and capture a range of different shots. I’ve also included a few less-visited spots that have become some of my favourite places for photography.
If you need more information, I have a Photography Travel Guide to Tuscany, full of advice about planning your visit, including details of more than 60 photography spots and recommended routes to explore for new ideas.
Podere Belvedere
Podere Belvedere is a villa situated on a hill in Val d’Orcia, and one of the most photographed locations in Tuscany. There’s nothing of historical significance about this particular villa; it's just a beautiful place for photography, and word has got around.
The view overlooking Podere Belvedere contains all the elements of a great Tuscan scene. A convenient ridge looks across acres of farmhouses and villas dotted around a landscape of rolling hills. There are ancient villages on the horizon and small orchards or lone trees in the valleys. It looks exactly as we expect Tuscany to look, but it’s hard to find another location that looks quite like this.
Almost everyone visiting Tuscany for photography plans to visit Podere Belvedere, and most other visitors also stop to see this easy location. So many photographs are made here that it’s hard to imagine capturing something unique, but there are plenty of opportunities to be creative, and this is the essential stop on your journey.
If you visit this spot on a spring morning, you’ll find yourself surrounded by other photographers, even in the early hours of the day. However, there is enough room for people to spread out and no perfect angle. Mornings are the most popular, and you might be a little restricted if you arrive closer to sunrise; getting on location early will help secure a less obstructed view.
When to go: This location is most popular at sunrise, when the light streams over the rolling hills and picks out details across the scene. In springtime (ideally close to early May), there is a good chance of seeing mist in the valley in the morning; near perfect conditions for this landscape.
The best light appears in the hour before sunrise, and you'll want to be on location very early for a morning shoot. To get as much as possible from this scene, arrive at least 45 minutes before sunrise and capture the pre-dawn glow in the landscape. This is especially true on a misty morning, where you might find your best shots come before the sun is up.
Practicalities: Podere Belvedere is the villa appearing in most photographs of this scene, but the spot to visit is a little up a hill and along a small ridge. The main road between San Quirico d’Orcia and Pienza passes this location, and there are large, free parking areas on both sides of the road. If you are staying in San Quirico d’Orcia, this spot is walkable from the town.
From the parking area, make your way through the small orchard (staying on established paths, where you’ll find an open space looking out over the landscape around Podere Belvedere.
Poggio Covili
Poggio Covili is a traditional villa surrounded by farmland and with a long, straight driveway lined with cypress trees. Like Podere Belvedere, there is no historical significance to this particular villa, but its position in the landscape makes it an ideal location for landscape photography.
There is some variety and room to explore at this location, and you can capture the tree-lined road from several positions for some creativity with the camera. At least one photographer must have captured an image from every inch of this area, and it's hard to create something unique here. However, there are enough options for a rewarding time with the camera, and this is a location you'll want to revisit and explore in different conditions.
The main road to Poggio Covili passes the end of the straight driveway and bends around the field below the villa, allowing you to find a variety of angles on the scene. The end of the row of cypress trees is an obvious place to start and is the most popular location for visitors here to capture a quick photo on their travels. However, the trees look better as you descend the hill and view them from the side, especially in the morning when they cast shadows to the west.
When to go: Poggio Covili is well-known as a sunrise location, when the sun appears behind the row of cypress trees if you watch them from the lower end of the field. If you get mist in the morning, the trees and surrounding fields can look otherworldly, and you can isolate the villa in the landscape from some angles. However, Poggio Covili can work just as well at sunset, and the variety of options makes this a great location to revisit in different conditions.
Poggio Covili can be a difficult location for midday light, and I recommend visiting at either end of the day and using the daytime for other, more flexible locations.
Practicalities: Poggio Covili is next to one of the main routes through Val d’Orcia, and most positions from which to capture the villa are right next to this busy road. You can find places to stand off the road without damaging the environment or crops, but you'll need to be aware of traffic while at this location.
There is no large parking area on location, but there are several spots where you can pull a car safely off the road and explore. The limited space beside the road can sometimes fill up with cars at busy times, but many visitors do not stay very long, and there is frequent movement that will allow you to find a spot with a little patience.
Agriturismo Baccoleno
Agriturismo Baccoleno is a pretty farmhouse complete with a chapel and guest apartments, and another competitor for the most photographed villa in Tuscany. Baccoleno has all the elements of a perfect Tuscan landscape image: rolling hills, a winding road lined with cypress trees, and the idyllic villa perched on top of a hill. It’s another location that looks just like our expectations of Tuscany, and thousands of visitors come to capture their version of the shot.
As a photography spot, Agriturismo Baccoleno is almost a fixed composition, with a neat winding road leading to a pretty farmhouse in the middle distance. You can experiment with different positions on the winding road, and a drone can help you capture the curves in the track more effectively from the air, but most compositions at Agriturismo Baccoleno feature the villa and the road in some combination.
The landscape around the top of the hill is covered in flowers in the spring, which can make for a beautiful foreground, and you can use a long lens to get close to the villa. There are a few other features in the landscape to explore with the camera, and you can find a little variety on location. However, the best approach to this scene is to visit multiple times in different conditions and look for variety in the light. If you only have time to visit once, make it sunset.
When to go: Agriturismo Baccoleno is most popular at sunset, when the sun drops below the hills behind the villa. The light streaming over the villa can make the foreground and hills glow when the sun gets low enough, and the incredible scene at sunset makes it worth persevering during the busiest time of day.
This spot can also work in morning light. The pattern of light across the road and villa varies with the time of year, but there will always be a part of the scene with good light if you come early in the morning. If your best opportunity to visit is during the middle of the day, the ideal conditions are dappled light or heavy cloud.
Practicalities: Agriturismo Baccoleno is located just off SP60, the main route north from San Giovanni d’Asso, and it’s easy to find just off the road. The biggest challenge is parking, as there is limited space around the entrance, resulting in dozens of cars trying to park on the narrow stretch of gravel by the road.
There is often space to leave your car by the road, but it can make driving in this area a chaotic scene, and you’ll need to drive slowly and pick your spot carefully. It may be some walk back to the location from whatever parking you can find.
The Clump
This clump of cypress trees outside San Quirico d’Orcia has become a recognisable feature in Tuscany, and it features in thousands of images from the region. Like many of the most photographed spots in this area, the layout of the landscape and ease of access drive the popularity of this location.
The cypress trees are the main feature, but there are other subjects on the horizon and some opportunities to be creative with your compositions at this spot. From the parking area, a farm track leads around the field containing the clump and up to a second circle of cypress trees on the hill. Most images of the clump are taken from the bottom of the hill near the road, but you can find different angles as you walk around the scene; just be careful to stay on the paths and avoid damaging any crops as you explore.
The clump works well at wide focal lengths that capture the foreground and sky, with the trees as a feature in the middle of the scene. You don’t need a very wide lens here for a good composition, and anything lower than 18mm can make the trees look too small for the frame. However, a good approach is to use a medium-wide lens and look for positions around the field to capture the folds and textures in the landscape as a foreground.
When to go: The best time of day to visit the clump varies through the year with the angle of the sun. In the summer, light catches the front of the clump at sunrise and sunset as the sun is positioned towards the north. In the winter, the sun rises and sets behind the trees towards the south.
For most of the year, you are more likely to get light on the clump at sunrise. However, the crops in the field can also impact the atmosphere and appearance of your images. Angles from below the clump often feature the field as a foreground subject, and it can change colour with the seasons, appearing as shades of green or brown depending on the time of year.
Practicalities: The clump is close to San Quirico d’Orcia, barely even a 5-minute drive from the edge of town. The location is off the main route through Val d’Orcia, which passes over the fields below the clump on a bridge and makes parking on location a high-stakes manoeuvre with cars zipping past on the busy road.
There is extremely limited parking on location: just a small area on each side of the road with enough room for around six vehicles. It’s not possible to stop anywhere else on the busy road, and there is often a cluster of cars in this area trying to find a place to stop.
Gladiator Fields
This thoroughly photographed spot was made famous by the movie Gladiator, and draws visitors every evening to capture the winding road and fields that appear on screen. The farmhouse in this image is Agriturismo Terrapille, and the location is a field just southwest of Pienza that might be no more popular than any other if it weren't for the Gladiator scene where the main character walks through a field of wheat, with a distinctive set of trees and a path in the background.
There is not much variety at this location, and the obvious scene of the track leading to the villa is the subject of most photographs. The landscape is not high enough for a sweeping view where you might pick out detail with a long lens, and there are few other features in this valley besides Agriturismo Terrapille. However, it is a beautiful view and a fantastic scene to capture in the right light.
When to go: This location is most popular at sunset, when the light comes in from the right of the scene and makes the villa and fields glow. It does look beautiful in golden light, and you can explore the area for minor adjustments to the composition, but the lack of options can make it a slightly underwhelming photography location.
If you come at sunset, you'll find dozens of people watching the light change, but it can be a pretty view even if you don’t get an amazing image here.
Practicalities: It used to be possible to park close to the spot, but the area later became overwhelmed by the popularity of the location. The best approach is to either walk from Pienza or find a safe place to leave the car off the main road south of the village.
Chapel Vitaleta
The Chapel of the Madonna di Vitaleta is a small building framed by cypress trees, situated on a hill by a farmhouse among the rolling hills of Val d’Orcia.
This ancient chapel was restored in the 19th Century and again in 2021 and is now a beautiful feature in the landscape. It’s a tiny chapel, similar to many others across the region, and the main appeal of this site is the simplicity of the building isolated on the hill. There is little to see and do here, but you can access the chapel from all angles and capture images of the building alone in the landscape.
Chapel Vitaleta is a simple feature isolated on a small hill, but it can still be a rewarding place to experiment with compositions. You can photograph the chapel from every angle, from far away or close up, and it’s a good opportunity to capture a well-known feature in your photographic style. You’ll also find some great views of the wider landscape on the road leading to the chapel
When to go: The sun catches the back (rounded) part of the chapel at sunrise and the face at sunset, though you can photograph the chapel from the front with the sun rising directly behind it at the right time of year (check the direction of sunrise during your visit).
The biggest challenge to a great photograph will be other visitors, especially in the middle of the day when the chapel is popular with more than just photographers. Visiting at the very beginning or end of the day can be quieter, and this is also the perfect spot for a rainy or overcast day when other guests are less likely to come.
Practicalities: There are a few ways to access Chapel Vitaleta, including a beautiful walk from San Quirico d’Orcia. The chapel is less than 2km from Podere Belvedere along a hiking path that runs through the fields in the valley. If you have enough time and the right conditions, the walk can be a good opportunity to explore Val d’Orcia on foot and look for compositions more slowly than is possible in a car.
The easiest way to access the chapel is to drive a short distance south from the road connecting San Quirico d’Orcia and Pienza, where you’ll find free parking down a gravel track.
The Lone Oak Tree
This oak tree on a hilltop has become a favourite feature for photographers and is a great place to visit on a clear day. The isolated tree sits on the ideal rounded hill and looks almost like a drawing of a tree in the landscape.
The best angle on the hill and tree is some distance away, and you’ll need a long lens to capture this view of the oak isolated in the landscape. You can walk right up to the oak tree, but the best viewpoint is from the gravel track that passes nearby (exact position below).
It's difficult to be creative with your composition at the lone oak tree, as there are limited angles to capture the scene. However, the wider landscape is beautiful, and this spot is a great starting point if you want to explore some gravel roads for new locations.
When to go: The lone oak tree is a beautiful feature under a sky of small, broken clouds that float across the scene and (hopefully) above the tree. It would also work with heavier cloud if there are enough gaps for the sun to cast spotlights over the landscape.
Practicalities: There is no parking area near the lone oak tree, but the track is quiet, and you can pull your car to the side and allow any traffic to pass.
Castiglione d'Orcia
The village of Castiglione d’Orcia has an incredible position, high on a hill overlooking the stunning landscape of Val d’Orcia. Castiglione d’Orcia has a pretty network of historic streets and several historic sites, such as the remains of the castle Rocca Aldobrandesca. However, the most notable feature of Castiglione d’Orcia is its incredible position on a tall hill, and the steep angles of the passageways hint at the topography of the village.
The view from Castiglione d’Orcia is much higher than other lookouts nearby, and there’s a compromise between seeing further into the landscape and feeling more disconnected from it by being so far up. However, in the right conditions, this can be a great angle from which to explore the rolling hills of Tuscany.
Castiglione d’Orcia is the perfect location to use a very long lens and pick out small scenes of farmhouses and rolling hills in the distance. One of my best afternoons of photography was in Castiglione d’Orcia, when a day of broken clouds turned into a series of storms and rain clouds that passed over the landscape below the village.
When to go: Photographing the view from Castiglione d’Orcia works best on an afternoon with broken cloud casts spotlights that flow across the landscape. There is so much to capture from this height that you can wait for compositions to appear as the conditions change.
This is also a great location for sunrise when the first light reaches the valleys. However, it is a little too high to capture mist over the landscape, and I recommend visiting locations further down and closer to the valleys in these conditions.
Practicalities: Castiglione d’Orcia is a small place, but has several dedicated parking areas, and it’s easy to walk from anywhere in the village to lookouts over the landscape.
Sorano
Sorano is a beautiful town in southern Tuscany, set in a forested landscape that distinguishes it from the medieval villages further north. Views of Sorano from the surrounding landscape are spectacular, and the traditional warren of alleyways between historic buildings is full of interesting details and shapes.
The historic area of Sorano is clustered on a high outcrop of rock with a network of narrow and steep alleyways between the houses. You can capture some beautiful street scenes among the buildings, but the best view is from the fortress Masso Leopoldino di Sorano, where you can look down over the rooftops on both sides of the town and into the valleys beyond.
Outside Sorano, there are several lookouts with beautiful views of the town’s striking position on a cliff above the valley. From just outside the centre, and within walking distance, is a position looking along the valley to the south wall of Sorano.
From the hillside opposite the town, you can walk through the forest and emerge onto a platform with the ideal position across the valley. Getting to this location requires a drive down into the valley and out the other side, but there is a parking area and a well-marked set of hiking trails to take you to the viewpoint when you arrive.
When to go: Sorano is a great place to photograph at any time of day because you can adapt your subjects from street scenes to views from outside the walls. The viewpoints face south towards the town, so the light from sunrise and sunset catches the front of Sorano during the summer.
Practicalities: A large parking area at a viewpoint just outside of town is the ideal place to stop and capture a sweeping view of Sorano before taking a short walk into town to explore the streets and fortress. If you want to capture Sorano from the viewpoint across the valley, there is a small area to park by the road and a hiking trail to the lookout.
Fairytale Tree
This set of trees is not a well-known photography location, but it is one of my favourite discoveries in Tuscany and a great feature for photography. This group of isolated trees on the horizon merges into a single clump with an almost magical asymmetric shape. A neat line of cypress trees tracks the top of the hill nearby, completing a beautiful scene in the middle distance.
You’ll need a long lens to capture detail and provide enough composition options at this location, and there are few other subjects nearby for wider arrangements. However, the appeal of the tree is in its fairytale silhouette, and it provides the perfect focal point for images featuring a lot of sky.
When to go: This isolated tree can be a great sunset location when the light appears behind you and illuminates the hillside and the tree. However, it works at any time of day and in any conditions if you adapt your style to suit different light. Even with very harsh light or heavy cloud, it’s always possible to be creative and use the silhouette of this feature.
Practicalities: The view of the tree is next to a quiet road, where you’ll find several parking areas out of the way of traffic. As this has not become a famous location in Tuscany, few cars are trying to stop nearby, and it is usually possible to park close to the fairytale tree.
San Gimignano
San Gimignano is one of the strangest towns in Europe and a brilliantly unusual place to photograph. San Gimignano evolved as family rivalries during the medieval period took the form of competitive tower-building, creating a medieval collection of skyscrapers in a tiny village. At its peak, there were 72 tower houses in San Gimignano, some up to 70 metres tall.
Fourteen towers remain, giving San Gimignano an unusual skyline that appears as a cross between a typical Italian fortified village and a modern city of high-rise buildings. You can explore the streets among the towers or find different perspectives on San Gimignano from the surrounding landscape. Although this isn’t a typical rural Tuscan scene, you can capture some striking images here, and the history alone is worth the visit.
The most striking perspectives on San Gimignano are in the surrounding landscape, where you can capture the town from a distance and get a sense of its architecture. There are several nearby viewpoints, each with advantages and disadvantages; some are closer or have less restricted views, but each has a different configuration of the towers as your perspective shifts.
When to go: The viewpoints around San Gimignano face the village from different angles, so you’ll have to consider the position of the sun and how it might light up the town at sunrise or sunset. This will change throughout the year, but you can look up the direction of the sun during the times of your visit.
Search for a viewpoint where the sun will be behind you or to the side to capture light on the side of the towers.
Practicalities: Viewpoints around San Gimignano are on rural roads with areas to pull to the side out of the way (examples here and here). If you want to visit the village, there are large parking areas, and the best approach is to arrive very early before most other visitors and capture the streets while they are still quiet.
Castello del Boccale
Castello del Boccale is an unusual feature for Tuscany, and the only coastal view on this list. It sits on a point of rock by the sea south of Livorno, where the highway SS1 traces the coast next to beautiful views of the ocean, and the occasional clifftop restaurant looks out over the water.
Although there has been a tower at this spot for hundreds of years, the current building is fairly modern, having been significantly upgraded and redesigned in the 20th century. It’s now an apartment building. However, its position on the coast and the rocks around this part of the shore make it a pretty feature to incorporate into a seascape image.
There are other areas along this shore where you can access the rocks and look for seascape compositions, and it’s possible to make images in both directions at Castello del Boccale. The castle may be the best feature, but you can create arrangements of rocks for some distance along the shore, and it’s a beautiful place to capture the sky as it changes over the ocean.
When to go: You can create seascape images in different styles in any weather, and this location could be worth visiting in stormy weather when the waves crash over the rocks.
However, this stretch of coast is the ideal location for the end of a day, as it points west towards the setting sun.
Practicalities: This spot outside Livorno is easy to access and only a 25-minute drive from Pisa airport, making it a great addition to your trip for some variation in your images from Tuscany.
It’s possible to park alongside the SS1 and access the rocks and shore in this area, although it can be a popular location for residents of Livorno and very crowded on a sunny weekend. You may have to search a long way along SS1 for a space in the parking areas at the side of the road, and be aware that officials visit this area frequently to issue fines if your car is not pulled fully off the road.
Finding the Best Photography Locations in Tuscany
These locations are a good place to start when planning a photography trip to Tuscany. While you might not capture something original at every spot, you’ll likely have a great experience at these locations and create some great photographs.
There is much more to discover around these places, and Tuscany is a great region for exploring the landscape and finding new compositions. A good approach is to start each day at a familiar location, where you may already have an image in mind for the best light, then explore during the middle of the day when the light is less rewarding.
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