For centuries Tuscany’s Maremma has been the arrival point of transhumance paths climbing down the Appennines. One of these paths ran through Rosia creek’s and Merse’s valley, heading towards Massa Marittima or Roccastrada. According to the legend, Pia dei Tolomei walked on this road during her journey to Maremma, in XIII century. A massive castle, … Continue reading 1 – La Via Maremmana di Rosia: a transhumance path

The Natural Reserve lies at the bottom of Chianti Hills, between Poggibonsi and Castellina. The area, called after the nearby romanesque parish church, has great natural and environmental appeal. It is a wood made of cypresses that dates up to the Etruscan period. The “Bosco di S.Agnese” is one of the few examples of naturalized … Continue reading 2 – Bosco di S. Agnese Natural Reserve

The excursion runs through a piece of the most known ever pilgrimage way, that leads from central Europe to Rome, illustrated in X century by bishop Sigerico, with its gravel roads, its castles and its abbeys. Knights, thiefs, pilgrims, dames and merchants travelled through this itinerary in the past and we will look for their … Continue reading 3 – The long Sigerico’s itinerary: via Francigena from Strove to Monteriggioni

The excursion will bring us to discover the Anpil (Natural Reserve Area of Local Interest) that protects about 4 km of the main left tributary of Arno, starting from S. Marziale bridge in Gracciano to Spugna bridge, running along the river in its most spectacular section. The route touches also some old XVII century hydraulic … Continue reading 4 – River Park of Alta Val d’Elsa

An Itinerary of great environmental, naturalistic and historical appeal, that allows us to cross the central section of Montagnola heading NorthWest – SouthEast and to link ideally two territories with the same hydro-geological origin, Pian del Casone and Pian del Lago. The route starts in Castel Petraia and climbs up constantly till the Castellare, passing … Continue reading 5 – The Great Trip: Castel Petraia, Casa Giubileo and S. Colomba.

The excursion will bring us to discover two majestic buildings of the Montagnola: the Villa of Cetinale and the Villa of S.Colomba. The first one is a seventeenth-century villa surrounded by stunning spots: the Romitorio and the Tebaide Park, in which art, nature and religion melt in a fascinating scenario. Fabio Chigi, who later become … Continue reading 6 – The Villas of Montagnola senese

The itinerary will lead us through the Montagnola woods, to discover some history-full ruins surviving in the dense wonderful holly oak and chestnut woods: the Castellaccio di Casole, the Pieve di Marmoraia, the tumulo di Mucellena and the Cappella Nagli. During the excursion we will find out the story of these spots, exploring trails of … Continue reading 7 – Roots and Stones, Hidden Ruins of Montagnola Senese between Pievescola and Scorgiano

Running through grazing and wineyards the itinerary touches three historical-archeological emergencies of Colle Val d’Elsa territory: the Badia di Coneo, Vallombrosa’s friars institutions of XI century, that assumed remarkable prestige by standing on the Via Francigena, the Etruscan necropolis of Dometaia and the Torre di Montemiccioli, an old tower dating back to municipal wars between … Continue reading 8 – Archeological Trekking from Badia a Coneo to Torre di Montemiccioli

The natural reserve lies on a hill covered in woods in Val d’Elsa, including western side of Poggio del Comune. The excursion will bring us to discover a medieval village hidden in a thick forest between the valley cracks of Botro di Castelvecchio and of Botro della Libaia. Chalky soil is the explanation to the … Continue reading 9 – Castelvecchio Natural Reserve

The southern part of Montagnola Senese is all along bound to marble extraction and the mines we are going to encounter on the way, some of them still active, are proof. Not only marble on this route, we are passing through dense chestnut tree woods, we are touching places of partisans’ Resistence and we are … Continue reading 10 – The Marble of Montagnola Senese

The itinerary has a great archeological and religious appeal: from Fungaia, gently going up-and-down, the path runs through S.Colomba and S.Leonardo al Lago, important medieval hermitage which presents several frescoes decorating inside walls of the Church. S.Leonardo al Lago in XII century was inhabited by a religious community, it was placed in a deep wood … Continue reading 11 – S. Colomba, the disappeared Lake and the Eremo di S. Leonardo