Tempio del Brunello

The Tempio del Brunello in Montalcino's former Augustinian convent presents the history of Brunello and the landscape in which the wine developed. Its multimedia displays and contemporary artworks complement the historic collections of the Sant'Agostino complex.

Why it matters

The Tempio del Brunello adds a contemporary interpretation of Montalcino's wine culture to the historic setting of Sant'Agostino. Opened in 2021, it uses virtual-reality imagery, video, recorded voices and commissioned art to connect Brunello with the territory, its growers and its cultural history. It forms a modern counterpart to the Sienese paintings, sacred metalwork, ceramics and manuscripts preserved elsewhere in the former convent.

What to notice

The installation combines views of Montalcino's landscape with accounts from people associated with the wine and artworks inspired by the area. Its presentation links territory, human experience and artistic interpretation rather than focusing only on bottles or cellar equipment. The Tempio del Brunello sits within the broader Sant'Agostino complex, whose other collections include civic and diocesan works.

Context and history

The Musei di Montalcino occupy part of the fifteenth-century former convent of Sant'Agostino. A restoration in 1977 brought civic and diocesan collections together, including Sienese painting and sculpture, sacred goldwork, ceramics and two twelfth-century illuminated Bibles from the abbey of Sant'Antimo. The Tempio del Brunello was added as part of the Oro di Montalcino project. Its contemporary presentation sits within a complex whose other collections preserve the area's medieval art and archaeology.