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Mount Amiata is located south of Siena and Via
Cassia runs through it. In antiquity it was one of the major arteries
of the incredible system of the Roman Empire which lead to and from
Rome. This extinct volcano, 1,738 meters at its summit, with enough
geothermal activity to heat the baths of little-known but bijoux spas
at Bagno Vignoni and Bagni San Filippo, is a worthwhile discovery for
Tuscany-explorers and Italophiles who are in search of unspoiled nature,
still down-to-earth and hospitable people, and genuine traditional cuisine.
Culture-vultures will enjoy Amiata's ring of numerous quaint hilltowns:
among them Arcidosso (home of the mystical 19th-century prophet, Davide
Lazzaretti, and his sect), Castel del Piano (for its paintings by the
Nasini dynasty), Santa Fiora and Piancastagnaio (with their Jewish ghettoes
dating to 1555), Roccalbegna (for its bread and castle), Radicofani
(for its Carolingian castle and local Robin Hood, Ghino di Tacco, who,
mentioned in both Dante's Divine Comedy and Boccaccio's Decameron, robbed
medieval pilgrims going to Rome along the Francigen Way).
No less evocative are its medieval churches, the
most splendid of which are the Romanesque abbazie or abbeys of The Holy
Redeemer at Abbadia di San Salvatore and of Sant'Antimo
Abbey not far from Seggiano. Speaking of vultures, in Mount Amiata's
several nature reserves, with their well-marked trails for trekkers
and hikers, are the undisturbed habits of many types of fauna and flora.
Monte Amiata is dedicated to the study of the wolf, several species
of deer, mouflon, chamois, Apennine wolf, the indigenous donkey, small
vultures, porcupines, fox, badger, squirrels, foxes, and wild-boar.
Much to their joy, botanists will find beech, chestnuts, firs, cork,
numerous species of oak, Turk's cap, St. John's lily, deadly nightshade,
Solomon's seal, three-quarters of the many species of wild orchids found
in Italy, and a plethora of wild herbs and berries used abundantly in
local dishes--the cuisine of the poor. A fairy-tale landscape especially
in spring! Today, has one of the most famous ski runs in Tuscany. During
this period, skiers are anxiously awaiting the first snowfalls and preparing
for the numerous runs which weave the pattern of the summit.

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