MOUNT AMIATA:   A MOUNTAIN FOR EVERY TASTE

by Lucy Gordan

  Approximately two-thirds of the Italian boot is covered with mountains;   the Alps run across its northern borders and the Apennines down its center to the toe.   Only two of the most important peaks stand alone:   Mount Etna in Sicily and Mount Amiata in the Tuscan provinces of Grosseto and Siena.

  Although Tuscany is certainly one of Italy's most popular tourist destinations,   Mount Amiata, unlike Chiantishire to the north and deutsche Maremma to the south, remains off-the-beaten path. 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 like nonna or grandma used to cook.   The perfect place to unwind and pull out the stress plug!

  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 St. Antimo 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.   All great venues for "photo safaris"!   Monte Penna is home to numerous species of birds of prey:   sparrow hawk, goshawk, buzzard, short-toed eagle, harrier, and hobby, as well as the skunk, wild boar, porcupine, fawn, and roe deer.   Monte Labbro counts 117 species of birds, 53 of mammals, 13 of reptiles, and 10 of amphibians.   Of these 76 are in danger of extinction:   the spotted salamander, yellow-bellied toad, short-toed eagle, lanner, barn owl, mustached bat, noctule, wolf, beech marten, and badger, to name a few.   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.   In addition giving refuge to most of Monte Amiata's fauna plus the skunk, wildcat and otter, Rocconi and Pescinello , both owned by the WWF, are bird-watchers' paradises where Egyptian vultures, harrier eagles, hobbies, lanners, sparrow-hawks, kite, kingfishers, and woodpeckers are easy to sight.  

  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!

  Besides trekking, hiking   (the "Chestnut Trail" alone has six well-marked branches), and bird-watching, sport enthusiasts can enjoy horse trekking, bicycling, mountain-biking, speleology in the grottoes of Sassocolato or di Bacchea near Monte Penna and all snow-sports with ski-lifts at Prato della Contessa, Prato delle Macinaie, la Marsiliana, and Rifugio Cantore for a total of c. 25 kilometers of down-hill runs and 12 for cross-country.

  When it comes to wine, the charming town of Montalcino, which gives Brunello di Montalcino its name, is not quite on Amiata, but its rival grows on its slopes near the hilltown of Seggiano.   You will see yellow signs to the Strada del Vino di Montecucco, and you can sample the wine at the Castle of Pontentino (tel. 001-0564-950326 or tel/fax -0564-950014, e-mail:   castellodipotentino@virgilio.it).   The castle, which is almost a village in itself, has recently been restored by wine-producer Charlotte Bolston Greene, niece of the writer Graham Greene.  

  Aside from vineyards, gastronomically-speaking, Amiata's slopes are covered with olive groves or the ubiquitous chestnut (found in almost every local recipe) and beech woods, full of wild mushrooms and white truffles at the right season not to mention all kinds of edible wildlife, in particular deer, wild boar, hare, and pheasant, throughout the year.   Local pecorino cheese made with sheep's milk, if not yet as well publicized as its namesakes in Sardinia and the Abruzzi, is delicious as are the products made with " cinta senese, " a small local black pig with a white stripe.

  To promote tourism and the local cuisine, in 2001 the Tourist Board revived the 1987 food festival, Amiata a Tavola .   For five weekends in May and June and a sixth in November tourists and locals participate in local oil- and wine-tastings, watch local craftsmen make their wares:   ceramics, wood-carvings, wrought-iron, visit the coal mines once the principal industry here, and feast on local specialties.   Sixty-seven restaurants joined in 2003's third Amiata a Tavola 's contest for the best local dish made with local ingredients and served with a local wine.   A first round narrowed the contestants down to twenty.   On December 4 at the comfortable hotel "Le Macinaie" (Prato delle Macinaie, 58033 Castel del Piano, (Grosseto, tel. 011-39-0564-959001, FAX -959013, www.lemacinaie.it) a jury of local historians, nutritionists and journalists specialized in eno-gastronomy delivered their verdicts.   First prize went to the restaurant "La Pieve di Semproniano" in Semproniano for tortelli di baccalà with a leek sauce;   second to "Il Podere dei Nobili" in the nature reserve Monte Amiata for a traditional local "sweet" called " Ciaramito ," made with chestnut flour, raisins, and pine-nuts by his future mother-in-law when her future son-in-law officially asked for the hand of his bride; and third to "Piccolo Borgo" in Semproniano for the local specialty, " acquacotta ," a bread and egg peasant soup.   The public's favorite was "The Hotel Contessa" for its vast choice of antipasti and its well-known hospitality.  

  Starting with the Epiphany, folkloristic festivals and celebrations fill up the calendar on Mount Amiata.   Probably the most dramatic takes place on November 24, as part of the grand finale of Amiata a Tavola .   A fertility rite, it's called " La Focarazza a Santa Caterina " and takes place in this tiny frazione just outside Roccalbegna.   At sunset a huge "haystack" made of heather is built at the top of a hill just outside town.   When it's completely dark out, the stack is blessed by the priest and then set on fire.   When the blaze is over, all the bachelors from Santa Caterina go into action, a genuine-tug-of-war, trying to grab and then drag the still-smoldering stollo (the stack's main pole, a trunk of Turkey oak) down the steep hill to their contrada or neighborhood where it's triumphantly displayed for several days.   Then it's burned and its ashes are scattered over the fields in the hopes of a good harvest.

  No matter what the season, wind up your stay on Mount Amiata with a visit to the Daniel Spoerri Sculpture Garden near Seggiano, founded here by the Rumanian-born Swiss emigré sculptor, famous for his Eat Art movement and chef-owner of "Galerie J" in Paris and "Spoerri" and "Eat Art," both in Düsseldorf, all famous for his "Cannibal Supper".   It's a must for culture-vultures, hikers, and food-lovers alike.   Its many humorous works-of-art are cleverly placed in a huge area and many have a eno-gastronomical theme:   "The Throne of St. Grappa," "Drunk Demi-Johns," "Eternal Breakfast," "Eternal Lunch," "The Cup," "The Drip-Moulding of Meat-Grinders," and "Bibendum" to name a few. In other words, "The Garden of Eatin'!  

PRACTICAL TIPS:

  Transportation:   The easiest way to visit the numerous attractions of Mount Amiata is by private car from Siena.   Otherwise, but only three times on Sundays, hop on the "Nature Train," pulled by a turn-of-the-century steam engine.   Its circular 140km. route starts and finishes at Siena and passes by the Crete, the Orcia Valley, Mount Amiata and the Ombrone Valley.   Train arrangements allow visitors to get off at a station to hike or bike and then to get back on a later train or at another station.

  Accommodations and Restaurants:   Stabilimento Termale di Bagno Vignoni, Piazza del Moretto 32, 53027 Bagno Vignoni, (Siena), tel/FAX. 011-39-0577-887365, e-mail:   bagnovignoniterme@tin.it. Terme San Filippo, Bagni San Filippo, 53020 Bagni San Filippo (Siena), tel. 011-39-0577-872982, e-mail: info:@termesanfilippo.it, www.termesanfilippo.it.   Locanda La Pieve, Via della Società Operaia 3, 58055 Semproniano (Grosseto), -0564-987252, FAX -0564-987756, e-mail: lapieve@latramaremma.it, www.altramaremma.it. Ristorante Podere dei Nobili, Parco Faunistico dell'Amiata, 58031 Arcidosso (Grosseto), tel. -0564-966867, -967720, info@parcofaunistico.it.   Il Piccolo Borgo, Piazza Fazio Cacciaconti, Rocchette di Fazio, Semproniano, (Grosseto), tel. -0564-986173.   Hotel Contessa, Località Prato della Contessa, tel. -0564-959000, fax -0564-959002.

  For more information, a calendar of local festivals, and the program of Amiata a Tavola 2004:   APT AMIATA, Via Adua 25, 53021 Abbadia San Salvatore, (Siena), Italy, tel. 011-39-0577-775811, 011-39-0577-77877, e-mail:   info@amiataturismo.it;   http:www.amiataturismo.it.