Monticello Amiata
Monticello Amiata is a fraction of the municipality of Cinigiano in the province of Grosseto, at the eastern end of the municipal area.
The village is located 734 meters above sea level, along the road that leads to Monte Amiata on the outskirts of the Poggio all l’Olmo nature reserve. The hilly area in which it is located marks the limit from the Ombrone valley to the Monte Amiata massif. Monticello Amiata is about 50 kilometres from Grosseto and just over 9 kilometres from the municipal capital.
Formerly called Montepinzutolo, it was mentioned for the first time in a document dated 5 April 1027 of Corrado II and then as a manor of the lords of Tintinnano, nothing remains today of the ancient high-medieval village, completely destroyed by fire in 1240. The new village was rebuilt by the inhabitants of Montepinzutolo with the name of Monticlo, and in 1261 it became an autonomous municipality. At the beginning of the 14th century it was placed under the protection of Siena and in 1348, due to insubordination concerning the double payment of taxes to the abbey of San Salvatore and to Siena, it received an excommunication which, curiously, to date has never been formally withdrawn. Annexed to the Granducato of Tuscany in the mid-sixteenth century, in 1783 it lost its autonomy, being merged with Cinigiano, the new municipal seat.
Two nature trails have been created to better know the surrounding area: the “path of the sources” and the “path of the chestnut”. The path of the sources is a historical-environmental itinerary around the village of Monticello Amiata, which descends towards the water sources known as the Fonte vecchia and Fonte di sotto, used in the past as watering for animals and for supplies for home use. The path of the chestnut is a nature trail that goes into the woods below the village until it reaches a big area of fruit chestnut trees: the itinerary also presents interesting elements of anthropological nature, thanks to the presence of chestnut dryers, huts and dry stone walls.
… and the surroundings
Grosseto side
In the guides on this site you will find important informations about history, landscape and artistic heritage of the area of the municipalities of Cinigiano, Arcidosso, Castel del Piano, Seggiano, Roccalbegna, Santa Fiora, Semproniano, Castell’Azzara, Pitigliano and Sorano with the fraction of Sovana.
There are also informations about the beautiful Argentario coast and its villages as well as the islands of Giglio and Giannutri.
Moving instead to the province of Siena, information and publications on the Terre di Siena website may be useful.
Siena side
In particular we point out two brochures: the first one dedicated to Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, San Quirico and other towns of great interest in the nearby Val d’Orcia which can be downloaded directly from here and the other concerning the Amiata municipalities including Abbadia San Salvatore and Piancastagnaio, what you can download from here.
Abbeys
Don’t miss a visit to some of the most suggestive abbeys that are also a significant examples of the power and role played in the past in the organisation of the territory as a crossroad of pilgrims on their way along the Via Francigena.
The Abbey of Sant’Antimo, one of the most evocative examples of Romanesque art in Italy, is situated in an isolated position on the road from Montalcino to Castelnuovo dell’Abate. The current structure dates back to the 12th century but according to the tradition it was built on the basis of a pre-existing church commissioned by Charlemagne in 781, returning from Rome, along the Strada Francigena.
The Abbey of San Galgano is located in the municipality of Chiusdino (SI) and its construction, begun in 1218, is due to the work of the Cistercian monks who made it, in the mid-13th century, the most powerful Cistercian foundation in Tuscany. The monastic complex, that has to be visited together with the nearby Hermitage of Montesiepi, is famous all over the world for the particularity of its current structure without the overlying roof and as one of the most significant examples of Italian Gothic-Cistercian architecture.
The third abbey, that of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, is located within the municipality of Asciano (SI) on a hill overlooking the Crete Senesi. It was founded in 1313 by Giovanni Tolomei, a professor of law belonging to an important family of Siena who became a monk of the order of the Benedictines with the name of Berardo. Inside it still contains precious works of art, a library with numerous ancient volumes and parchments and a restoration laboratory for old books.
The Abbey of San Salvatore is the sacred building that gives its name to the municipality of Abbadia San Salvatore (SI).
Historical documents place its construction around the middle of the 700 AD by the will of the Longobard duke Ratchis.
This Abbey had its moment of greatest glory from the 10th to the 12th century, that is during the period of greatest transit of pilgrims going to Rome on the underlying Via Francigena.
For further information:
Official site of the Abbey of St. Salvatore
Official Site of the Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore
Official Site of the Abbey of St. Antimo
Municipality of Chiusdino-VISITA ABBAZIA OF SAN GALGANO – OPENING TIMES AND PRICES
Thermal water
Tuscany, a sulphurous land of ancient volcanoes, is rich in small and large thermal springs surrounded by beautiful landscapes. Among the many, known and less known ones, we point out some of them outdoors in which to dive for free and that are reachable without traveling too far from the campsite:
The White Ditch of Bagni San Filippo
Baths free of Bagno Vignoni
Free Baths of Petriolo
Waterfalls of the Mill of Saturnia
Parks, natural reserves and gardens
From a naturalistic and cultural point of view there are many possible excursions among medieval villages, natural reserves and outdoor gardens:
The Monte Labbro Nature Reserve and the Wildlife Park of Mount Amiata Alta Valle del Albegna, Nature Reserves of Pescinello and Bosco Rocconi
Regional Park of Maremma
The Natural and Cultural Park of Val D’Orcia
Nature Reserve of Diaccia Botrona
The Garden by Daniel Spoerri
The Tarot Garden
Museums
We refer here to the main museum systems of the territory with an invitation to consult the sites to verify the location of the individual structures, opening times and planned events:
Museums of Maremma – Mount Amiata and its museum network
Musei Senesi Foundation