What's in Castel del Piano:

Few know that even Castel del Piano celebrates a palio: The Palio of Contrade of Castel del Piano was born from centuries-old tradition of venerating the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Graces with solemn rites and horse racing.
The Palio is extremely old, dating back to the "Goods and Livestock Fair" on September 9, 1402, granted by the Republic of Siena, who conquered the country in 1331, the world-renowned Guidoriccio da Fogliano.

In the summer for hikers there is an extensive network of trails of varying difficulty, which covers the whole mountain area.
Combining the various paths you can reach several towns such as Pitigliano, Scansano, Saturnia, Argentario. Near the province of Siena you can visit Montalcino, Montepulciano, Pienza.

Many routes are passable by mountain bike or horseback, while cyclists can enjoy the roads of Monte Amiata, some, because of the slope, are only recommended for tbe more trained.

In winter the Amiata mountain is covered with snow and becomes a destination for skiers: fifteen ski lifts are available, sixteen miles of downhill runs, twelve runs. The less experienced can take lessons from instructors and there are also camps for school children.

There is also the opportunity to explore the cave spelunking and Sassocolato Board, led by members of the Speleological Group "Castell'Azzara Bear".

Excursions:

• Arcidosso (3 km.)
  Arranged like a pyramid, Monte Labro, the community built by the Prophet David Lazzaretti, has keep battlements on the cusp and the lives-to be screwed around NOT SURE WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY. This is near the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the pieve rock of Lamulas.


• Seggiano (6 km.)
  Perched on a hill, in a recurrent pattern, at the feet of the sixteenth century Sanctuary of Our Lady of Charity Greek Cross, erected in the aftermath of a miraculous apparition. Not far from the Potentino castle.


• Vivo d'Orcia (10 km.)
  Near a residential area, at about 1000 meters, the villa is a robust system of Cervini's Villa from the late Renaissance, the complex is called "the Hermitage".


• Santa Fiora (11 km.)
  Santa Fiora has three distinct neighborhoods, arranged one above another in terraces: the park area of Peschiera, the Borgo at Castello in the central square, and the beautiful Palazzo Sforza Cesarini made with the local peperino stone. Along with Sovana it was the aldobrandesca capital, famous for its Robbiane pottery and the Witch Rock of Petorsola.


• Abbadia San Salvatore (20 km.)
  In one of the largest Amiata's village, home of the illustrious Abbey of the same name, famous since the early Middle Ages and founded, according to legend, by the Longobard King Rachis. The crypt is a rare example of early Proto-Romanesque architecture and sculpture.


• Castiglione d'Orcia (20 km.)
  Urban core with Sienese characteristics of the use of the tiles. Together with the untouched Rocca d'Orcia, there is the mighty fortress of Tintinnano; from here you can look over the Val d'Orcia to Pienza and Montepulciano.


• St. Antimo Abbey (21 km.)
  Sant'Antimo Abbey is a monastic complex located at Castelnuovo dell’Abbate (Siena), close to Montalcino. This is one of the most important examples of Tuscan Romanesque architecture. Every day the community gathers in the church to celebrate the functions dictated by the monastic rule. All functions are sung in Gregorian chant and in the original Latin. In recent years the community of Sant'Antimo has also recorded several CDs of Gregorian chant, accompanying liturgies.


• Roccalbegna (22 km.)
  Candid, like the stone of which the buildings are built with the remains of the keep, the Romanesque church architrave is lopsided, the many works of art.


• Piancastagnaio (22 km.)
  Still a rock and a center of interest, with the Palais Bourbon del Monte, the Church of Our Lady of St. Peter, the Convent of St. Francis. A few kilometers away, an unusual and gigantic holm recalls a visit of the Saint. Vetta Amiata, elevation 1700, is easily accessible from each of the villages that gravitate around. In winter there is skiing, in summer you can enjoy the wonders of the beech forest.


• Bagnovignoni (27 km.)
  Bagnovignoni is one of the most charming medieval towns of Tuscany and best preserved. Located in the Val D'Orcia, it is nestled in a picturesque landscape of vineyards that are world-renowned. Part of the town of San Quirico d'Orcia in the province of Siena, is known worldwide for its spa, whose work dates back to the Roman age.


• Montalcino (30 km.)
  The hill that is Montalcino was probably already inhabited in Etruscan times. The city walls were built in the thirteenth century. The fort was built on the highest point of the city in 1361, and has a pentagonal structure that was designed by the Sienese architects, Mino Foresi and Domenico di Feo. The fortress incorporates a number of existing structures including the keep of Santo Martini, the tower of St. John and an ancient church, which now serves as a chapel of the castle.


• Rocchette di Fazio (30 km.)
  A castle, a church, a minute and well-preserved medieval village, overlooking sull'Albegna, in front of the striking gorges.


• Saturnia (36 km.)
  What remains of the ancient Etruscan city appearance blends medieval town is situated on the hill, along the Via Clodia, enclosed within the perimeter of the walls. In the stones of the Roman Gate remain the traces of the transit of the legendary Orlando. Nearby, in a beautiful and wild environment, is the Puntone Necropolis.


• Pienza (40 km.)
  Pienza is probably the most renowned and has the most artistic importance of the entire Val d'Orcia. It is not far from the highway Cassia. The historic center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.


• Radicofani (41 km.)
  The distinctive hill is easily recognized by the unique profile of the village of Ghino del Tacco with the beautiful tower secluded in the horizon. At the foot of the hill is the Post Palace.


• Sorano (45 km.)
  This is a medieval village perched boldly on a tufa ridge, on which stands the powerful Orsini Fortress. In the centre is the Clock Tower, the Church of St. Nicholas, the Palace Comitale, the Masso Leopoldino, and the Gate of the Merli. Vitozza, in the immediate vicinity of San Quirico di Sorano was a peculiar and archaic inhabited settlement. It’s the largest in central Italy, with its 200 caves, the three castles.


• Montemerano (48 km.)
  Also a medieval village, is situated on a hill, on whose end is the castle, the courtyard and buildings. From here the narrow streets branch off to the circle of the walls, revealing little masterpieces of architecture. In the Romanesque Church of St. Giorgio are towering works of the Sienese school frescoes and a local maestro. At the foot, the village still remembers an olive tree with golden leaves.


• Sovana (48 km.)
  Etruscan, Roman, medieval, Aldobrandeschi cradle and home of Gregory VII, is enveloped in the rich vegetation of this area and defended by a perimeter wall on which dominates the Rocca Aldobrandesca. In the wonderful square remarkable monuments stand as the Palace of the Archives, the Praetorian Palace and the Bourbon del Monte, the Loggia del Capitano, the small and attractive church of S. Marie with ciborium from the ninth century, the ruins of Mamiliano, holy dragoctono sovanese TRANSLATION wants that tradition fell into a barrel of nails, the edge of town, is the imposing Romanesque cathedral. Nearby, the magnificent Etruscan necropolis with the tomb of the Siren, The Tomb of Hildebrand, one of Silenus, of the Colombari, the Pola tomb.


• Pitigliano (52 km.)
  This is a nucleus of great variety and monumental interest, with the aqueduct ursineo, the fountain and the Renaissance cathedral, the Church of St. Rocco Capisotto, the Jewish quarter with a synagogue, the pillar of the Orsini load of alchemical symbols, like the well and the portal in the elegant courtyard of the fortress (now Episcopalian). Entering the town, the ruins of the church of San Francesco and the area of Poggio Strozzoni where it was located a park similar to the Bomarzo one. On the opposite side the Shrine of Our Lady of Grace. On the whole hill, which sweeps across the meandering river.


• Manciano (53 km.)
  Home of the only Maremma ‘s painters reported in the history of art: the Aldi and the Pascucci. The impressive Sienese cassero rises over the area that dominates the plain to the sea at its feet, the Church of St. Leonardo, the fountain of Rosignoli, the Museum of Prehistory and Early History.


• Gradoli (64 km.)
  Imposing the Farnese Palace, which covers most of the surface of the old town, whose buildings all look the "annexes" of this extraordinary example of late Renaissance architecture.


• Abbey of San Galgano (67 km.)
  Is known that San Galgano died in 1181 and, later converted to a disordered youth, he retired to live as a hermit to give himself to penance, with the same intensity with which it was first given to debauchery. The highlight of the conversion, took place on Christmas Day of 1180, when Galgano reached the hill of Montesiepi and stuck his sword into the ground, in order to transform the weapon into a cross. In fact in the Rotunda there is a rock from which sprouts the hilt and a segment of a sword. Corroded by rust from over the years, it is now protected by a plexiglas case. The obvious echo of the Arthurian legend has not failed to raise curiosity and, of course, some bold assumptions about possible relations between the mythology of the Round Table and the story of the chiusdinese saint. The Abbey of San Galgano is a Cistercian one, situated about thirty kilometers from Siena, close to Chiusdino. The site consists of the hermitage and the great abbey, now completely ruined and reduced to only walls. The lack of the roof - which highlights the articulation of the architectural structure - is common to those of the abbey of Melrose and Kelso in Scotland, of Tintern in England, to Cashel in Ireland and Eldena in Germany.


• Chiusdino (67 km.)
  The origin of the chief town, Chiusdino, is remote and may be placed during the Longobard domination in Tuscany. You can still see that the remains of walls are not always regular, large drafts are only roughly squared. Within that boundary the church of San Michele Arcangelo and at the door of the castle church of San Martino.


• Orvieto (75 km.)
  Like many of the centers of the area, Orvieto is built above a high tufa and risks failure constantly. The whiteness of the spiers of Romanesque-Gothic cathedral stands out against the town’s dark roofs At sunset the mosaic tympanum reflects its golden substance. Outside and inside, are masterpieces of painting and sculpture. There are many other notable buildings, including the Well of St. Patrick, admired in museums and works of the Cathedral Foundation and the Faina. The area is also rich in archaeological sites, such as the Necropolis of the Crucifix of Tufo and Cannicella, the tombs of the Bighe and of the Veli.


• Siena (77 km.)
  The city is known worldwide for its artistic heritage and for the substantial stylistic unity of its medieval street furniture, as well as for its famous Palio. The center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.



• Spas
  Bagni San Filippo (25 km.)
  Bagno Vignoni (27 km.)
  Saturnia (36 km.)
  Sorano (45 km.)
  San Casciano dei Bagni (48 km.)


• Markets
  Terme di Saturnia - Tuesday morning
  Arcidosso - Tuesday morning
  Pitigliano - Wednesday morning
  Castell'Azzara - Thursday morning
  Santa Fiora - 1 st and 2 nd Thursday of the month
  Abbadia S. Salvatore - 2 nd and 4 th Thursday of the month
  Sorano - Friday morning
  Acquapendente - Friday
  


• Garden Art
  Daniel Spoerri Garden (Seggiano)
  The Tarot Garden of Niki de Saint Phalle (Capalbio)
  


• Recommended beaches
  The Chiarone (Capalbio km 100)
  The Feniglia (Orbetello km 97)
  Bolsena Lake (Gradoli beach km 97)