Bettolle

A small town of Etruscan origins in the municipality of Sinalunga, whose name may well be traced back to the Vetu Etruscan family which settled in nearby Farneta (Vettunlae then became Bettolle). In the medieval period, the emperor Henry II granted the abbey of Farneta to the abbot of Bettolle, calling it the “Villa di Bettolle”. It then became a fief of the Cacciaconti, lords of Asciano and a large number of castles in Val di Chiana. After 1515, it was under the control of Cardinal Silvio Passerini, who was a close ally of the Florentine Medici family, who built a house there. In 1554, the Florentine troops of the Medici family, allied with the army of Charles V, conquered Bettolle once and for all. The fief was abolished in 1749 and from 1778, the town became a part of the municipality of Sinalunga.