4 Days on Monte Amiata: A Chestnut-Season Loop Around the Volcano
Four days around Monte Amiata in chestnut season, from the Siena side’s abbey and mercury mines to the Grosseto side’s springs, prophets, and olive groves.
Abbadia San Salvatore: An Abbey, a Mine, and Christmas Fires
The abbey town of Monte Amiata: a crypt of more than thirty carved columns, the story of an English Bible, a mercury mine you can ride into, and bonfires on Christmas Eve.
Monte Amiata: Tuscany’s Volcano of Springs, Chestnuts, and Fire
Monte Amiata is an extinct volcano ringed by spring-fed villages, where chestnuts, mercury, and geothermal heat shaped daily life and winter is marked by fire.
Santa Fiora: The Sforza Town Built Around a River’s Source
A former Sforza county seat on Monte Amiata’s Grosseto side, where the Fiora river rises and Andrea della Robbia’s glazed terracottas fill the parish church.
Castel del Piano: Palio Town on Amiata’s Western Slope
A working town on the Grosseto side of Monte Amiata with a bareback Palio every 8 September, the road up to the Macinaie, and a place in the Montecucco wine zone.
Meet the Oleificio Val d’Orcia: The Growers Who Built Their Own Mill
Meet a growers’ cooperative behind Val d’Orcia olive oil: its history, its mill, its DOP, IGP, and organic oils. Plan your visit to Castiglione d’Orcia.
Barga: Italy’s Most Scottish Town and Its Double Sunset
Barga Tuscany: a walled hill town with Scottish roots, a sunset that happens twice, and a Buffalo Soldier’s last stand above it. Plan your visit.
Camaldoli: A Thousand Years of Silence in the Forest
For a thousand years, Camaldolese monks have lived in silence among the ancient forests of the Casentino. Visit the hermitage, monastery, and historic pharmacy at Camaldoli.
3 Days in Lunigiana: Castles, Testaroli, and the Oldest Road to Rome
A 3-day itinerary through Tuscany’s northernmost valley — from prehistoric stele statues to Malaspina castles, from the Via Francigena to the oldest pasta in Italy, with a side trip to Cinque Terre.