The valley is also an important natural, artistic, and cultural park, and since July 2, 2004, it has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to the excellent state of conservation of the landscape, as produced by intelligent human intervention, which had a notable influence on many Renaissance artists. The commission justified its inclusion in the list as follows[1]:

“Criterion (iv): The Val d’Orcia is an exceptional example of how the natural landscape was redesigned during the Renaissance period to reflect the ideals of good governance and to create an aesthetically pleasing image; Criterion (vi): The landscape of the Val d’Orcia was celebrated by the painters of the Sienese School, which flourished during the Renaissance. Images of the Val d’Orcia, and especially reproductions of its landscapes, which depict people living in harmony with nature, have become icons of the Renaissance and have profoundly influenced the way landscape was conceived in later years.”