Nature's triumph

Nature's triumph
Toscana
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Magazine: September 2007

Nature’s triumph
The Amiata landscape is spiritual and suggestive, inspiring meditation and contemplation.
The magic begins as you cross the stretches of chestnut trees and beech trees starting at base of the ancient volcano which has been extinct for centuries.
The magic is uninterrupted as you meander along footpaths and dirt tracks which cut through the Mountain woods.
The culmination is breathtakingly unexpected: from the monumental iron cross that marks the Mountain’s peak, sweeping views include the Argentario profi les and the Mediterranean woodlands of the Uccellina reserve. The town closest to the summit is Abbadia San Salvatore, erected around an abbey from which it takes its name.
It was built during the Longobard period and still treasures small examples of sacred art such as the fresco which depicts its miraculous foundation. The abbey’s real treasure is the ‘hidden’ crypt under the main altar: a myriad of supporting columns whose capitals of astounding elegance, variety and décor, depict human fi gures and imaginary creatures, geometric designs and intricate knots, mazes and fl oral motifs.
The Park and Mineral Museum at the gates of the town are a reminder of Abbadia’s epic mining activities at the end of ‘800, when this village was one of the most important centres in the world for Mercury extraction.

Itinerary through Le Crete
Leaving Abbadia the route to Val d’Orcia is a must, to the village of Vivo with its Eremo, a magnifi cent Renaissance palace that overlooks the underlying valley.
 An additional stop on this magical tour of Amiata, takes us to the rivers and hot water springs of Bagni San Filippo.
Before reaching the ancient Bagni village there is woodland where you can marvel at a unique spectacle. The spring waters at Bagni San Filippo have been used for their remedial properties since the Renaissance.
They are still the ‘prime source’ for health and beauty treatments offered at the Hotel Terme San Filippo, a modern beauty farm set in a ‘700 villa.

The Amiata terroir includes two natural reserves: the faunistic park, on the slopes facing Grosseto, and the Val d’Orcia park that UNESCO has declared World Heritage

Discovering fl avours
Together with cinematic landscapes and precious works of art, Amiata also offers superior quality products and a taste of ancient fl avours.
Chestnuts have always been used for the creation of simple dishes, rich in both fl avours and calories: as well as polenta (which accompanies sausages, ricotta cheese and sweetbread), Amiantan recepies include chestnut cake, roast chestnuts (cooked in pans with holes), fruciole (chestnuts cooked in embers), fi andulone (a rosemary scented bread roll made with chestnut fl our), pichiona (boiled and pureed chestnuts).
The liaison between the kitchen and the woodland is not limited to chestnuts however: there are the mushrooms that grow on the Mountain’s slopes: porcini and giallarelli, verdoni and cucchi are used in the traditional Amiata mushroom soup.
And last, but certainly not least, are truffl es. With a new mapping of existing species and the enogastronomical itineraries, Amiata is a member of the Association of Truffl e Cities.