The book relates the adventures of Cinta, a pig of the 'cinta senese' breed (dark with a large white stripe) portrayed in the famous 14th-century fresco cycle The Effects of Good and Bad Government in the City and Countryside by Ambrogio Lorenzetti in the Palazzo Pubblico, Siena. Cinta moves around the various scenes in the fresco - it strolls through the countryside, enters the city, goes to the marketplace, eats everything in sight, causes commotion in the streets, appears before the Virtues guiding the city - and interacts with various characters before returning safely home to its farm. The character of Cinta is drawn in pencil, while all the other scenes are details from the original fresco.