About 5km west of San Quirico d’Orcia along the main SR2 road lies a famous stand of cypress trees that stand isolated on a hillside next to the road. There are in fact two groups of trees, one compact group close to the road and another arranged in a circle on the top of the hill.
The Lower Trees
There are two small parking spaces either side of the road, and from here a track runs up the hill towards the upper group of trees. The lower trees can be photographed from this track, but often this means shooting south into the sun and it is then difficult to correctly expose for the dark trees. At sunrise or sunset however and the trees show to a better advantage.
San Quirico Trees
A better viewpoint for showing the lie of the land can be reached by turning right from the car park and following a sketchy path to a point just below the main road. From here, both groups of trees can be photographed and the natural folds in the land stand out – particularly with a low evening sun.
Evening Light At San Quirico Trees
San Quirico Trees At Sunset
The Upper Trees
Most visitors follow the main path up the hill towards the upper stand of trees. These can be photographed from either side, but the best view of is to walk through the stand of trees and look back towards the north. The trees are arranged so that the distant Villa Belvedere-Enoteca Poggio Landi is framed by the trees. To emphasise this view, walk a bit of distance away from the trees and use a long lens. This compresses the perspective, appearing to bring the villa closer. The image below is an 8-way panorama taken with a 225mm lens. The old rusty plough appears to be a permanent feature of this view.
Upper San Quirico Trees
Across The Road
From the parking area on the south side of the road the track goes under the road and up the other side to reach the north parking space. It is worth exploring this north side of the road as there are attractive folds in the land and more distant trees on the skyline that make interesting subjects.
View North from San Quirico Trees
Isolated Tree
On the horizon at the top of the hillside on the north side of the road there are an interesting line of trees. These can be photographed with a long lens either from the parking areas, or from the track to the upper trees. This latter viewpoint adds some extra depth to the view.
San Quirico Tree Line