The name Tobruk or Tobruch was given to the farmhouse by Count Silvio Enea Piccolomini, a descendant of Pope Pio II. Count Silvio, a Colonel General in the army, took part in the Italo-Turkish war and in the Italian invasion of Libya in 1911. After a year of fighting, they won the coastal town of Tobruk and the surrounding area.
On his return from the African campaign, Count Silvio gave the name Tobruk to this farmhouse which dominates the Val d’Orcia. You can see some artefacts from the battle in the ‘Palazzo Piccolomini’ in Pienza.
