Renaissance Creatures and Other Animals in Tuscany

I’m an animal lover - whenever we travel, we miss our three cats, so I always carry a bag of treats with me to feed the inevitable village cat (or herd of cats) that we encounter in small Italian towns.

But I also notice animals in the context of artwork - Renaissance frescoes, paintings, statuary, and simple home decor. They’re everywhere. 

Here is a sampling of the animals - artistic and otherwise - that we saw on a recent trip to the Val d’Orcia in Tuscany - Pienza, Monticchiello, Buonconvento, San Quirico, Montalcino, and a dozen or so other towns in between.