A QUALITY MARK

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The Val d'Orcia S.r.l. is a company which has been set up by the five communes of the Park of the Val d'Orcia, Castiglione d'Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, San Quirico d'Orcia, and the province of Siena. It is engaged in the promotion of the Val d'Orcia and its products, and in its economic development, but, simultaneously protecting the environment and its national heritage. The preservation of works of art, traditions, local products, the landscape and the environment, are of utmost importance, whilst trying to guarantee an improvement in the way of life of the people of the area, whose hard work has contributed towards this unique and beautiful patrimony. In this territory there is the desire to find a balance between the development of the land's natural resources and the preservation of the landscape and the environment.
The Val d'Orcia S.r.l. is working to create a co-ordinated management of the territory where quality, preservation and economic development work together to improve and promote all that the Val d'Orcia represents. To visit the Artistic, Natural and Cultural Park of the Val d'Orcia is to enter a land where time has not stood still but the dynamics of day to day life is still inspired by and integrated with traditions of the past.
The evidence of man's work, his life and culture have become well known throughout the world and for this reason they have to be protected.
The Orcia Valley is made up of the hard, uneven, landscape typical of the "calanchi" the rolling hills of the Crete, and hills where the Mediterranean bush, olive-groves, vineyards and mixed cultivation stop and

intersect with one another and demonstrate how, in this area, the absence or presence of man's work and his knowledge and feel for the land have made an important impact on the environment. A visitor to this territory needs to understand this context, if he wishes to understand and appreciate the strong ties between agriculture and the environment. The result of this understanding is a high quality production, not only of wine, cheese and olive oil but also honey, meat, typical salami, cereals, handicrafts. All of which represent the bond which exists between the environment and man's work. To protect and improve these high quality products the Artistic, Natural and Cultural Park of the Val d'Orcia has a quality mark called the "Val d'Orcia" which guarantees the place of origin of a product and that it has undergone a rigid quality control.
At the moment the products which can be awarded this quality mark are olive-oil, wine, sheeps' milk cheese, saffron and honey but in the future the other products typical of this area will also be able to take advantage of it.