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.