Living in Radicondoli: get paid to enjoy real Tuscan village life

Up in the Siena hills, Radicondoli is the kind of Tuscan village where evenings still revolve around the piazza and summer theatre spills into courtyards. There’s a quiet buzz at the moment as the council is paying newcomers to move here by covering half the rent for the first two years and helping with lease guarantees.

Where is Radicondoli, and how to get there

By car, the village is roughly 1 hour to Siena, around 1.5 hours to Florence, and just over an hour to the Tuscan coast on winding but scenic roads. The nearest regular train hubs are Siena and Poggibonsi–San Gimignano, then a bus or car.

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What's it like living in  Radicondoli?

Radicondoli is a small medieval hilltop comune in Siena amid the Colline Metallifere. It’s all about stone lanes, chestnut woods, and long views, with a friendly year‑round community and a lively arts streak in summer. 

Daily life revolves around the compact historic centre, local festas, and weekend walks in nearby reserves. It suits remote workers and slow‑living fans who don’t mind driving.

WivoaRadicondoli and “Pay Half Your Rent”

Like other pay-to-live schemes in Italy, the local WivoaRadicondoli initiative targets new residents and remote workers with a headline perk: it can cover half of the first two years of rent for new tenants through early 2026. 

You’ll usually need to register residency, sign a minimum‑term lease, and meet monthly caps. Look for official calls and forms on the Comune di Radicondoli channels. It’s a rare window that makes trying village life less risky.

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Radicondoli real estate: what the housing stock looks like

Expect historic‑core apartments, two‑storey terratetti, and countryside casali with annexes, pools, and olive groves. Many older places need energy upgrades, while renovated homes do come up and are priced below Siena and well under Chianti hotspots.

• Property for sale in Radicondoli
• Long-term rentals in Radicondoli
• Holiday rentals in Radicondoli

Living in Radicondoli: pros and cons

Life here has clear upsides and a few trade‑offs for expats.

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Some of the pros of life in Radicondoli include:

• An unusual financial leg‑up via WivoaRadicondoli’s rent support window.
• Peace, safety, and trail access with proper dark skies at night.
• Character homes and countryside farmhouses at softer prices than Siena city or Chianti.

A couple of cons to weigh up:

• Car dependency and thinner bus timetables, especially evenings and Sundays.
• Limited services locally; more specialist healthcare and international schooling mean a drive.

Things to do in Radicondoli

Elio Pallard, CC BY-SA 4.0 Creative commons

If you’re shortlisting things to do in Radicondoli, start with the Collegiata dei Santi Simone e Giuda, the mellow viewpoints over the Metalliferous Hills, and artisan studios in the centre. In summer, the Radicondoli Festival brings theatre and performance across courtyards and small venues.

Walk the Riserva Naturale di Cornate e Fosini to the rugged castle, or head to Le Biancane for lunar‑like geothermal scenery. Day trips land easily at the roofless San Galgano Abbey and the Montesiepi Chapel, Massa Marittima, and the town of Volterra for Etruscan history.

Living in Radicondoli as an expat

The expat crowd is small and sociable, skewing to creatives, remote workers, and families seeking space. For schooling, the International School of Siena is within commuting distance; older teens sometimes look to International School of Florence for broader programme choices.

Integration comes through language swaps, volunteering at the Radicondoli Festival, and joining local hiking or food‑and‑wine groups around Siena and Colle di Val d’Elsa.

Radicondoli or Siena

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Choose Radicondoli for quiet, views, and bigger homes for your money; pick Siena for walkable city life, culture on tap, and stronger public transport. Property prices in the province of Siena averaged €1,887 per m2 in September 2025, which is lower than the price of a house in Siena city itself, which averaged €2,920 per m2. Rent prices in Siena sit higher than in rural villages like Radicondoli too, which typically track below provincial averages.

Commuting to Siena takes about an hour, so hybrid patterns work well. If you need frequent trains or an international school on your doorstep, Siena wins, but if space, nature, and a tight‑knit community matter more, Radicondoli stands out.

Moving to Radicondoli

Aim for a medium‑term rental first to get a feel for winter fogs, summer events, and heating setups in older homes. Wood‑burning or pellet systems are common, and it's good to check insulation and running costs before you buy.

Shop at the weekly market, learn the rhythms of nearby supermarkets in Colle di Val d’Elsa and Poggibonsi, and plan deliveries when you’re home. Food is hearty Tuscan grub—think pici, ribollita, and cinta senese—washed down with Chianti Colli Senesi or Monteregio di Massa Marittima from local producers.

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