Piancastagnaio between mining history and chestnut culture

In the Amiata area, Piancastagnaio combines mining history, religious buildings, a historic square, chestnut culture and routes through the countryside. This creates a destination whose highlights can be arranged according to your interests: you can explore historical traces, discover local cuisine or include routes with Piancastagnaio as your starting point or destination in your plans.

Fortress, churches and historic places

The Rocca Aldobrandesca di Piancastagnaio, the Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta and the Santuario della Madonna di San Pietro lead to different chapters of the town's history. The second construction phase of the Rocca Aldobrandesca dates from 1471 to 1478. The Pieve has a door lintel bearing the year 1617. The Santuario della Madonna di San Pietro stands on the site of an earlier Romanesque church. The restored washhouses of Piancastagnaio are also places of interest to visitors.

The Piazza Matteotti offers a distinct historical thread. It is the historic square formerly known as Piazza del Comune. Together with these buildings, it makes the development of the town across different periods visible, without requiring you to focus on a single theme.

Mining history and Pigelleto

At La Miniera del Siele, the richest cinnabar deposit in the Amiata area was mined; the ore contained up to 38 percent mercury. Visits to La Miniera del Siele are possible by prior arrangement. South of Piancastagnaio, the Pigelleto nature reserve also preserves traces of former cinnabar mining. Mining history can therefore be encountered both at a specific site and within a protected natural area.

Chestnuts at the festival and on the plate

Crastatone is an annual festival of roasted chestnuts. It has been held since 1967 during the week of All Saints' Day in the historic centre of Piancastagnaio. Local cuisine includes Brodolese, a chestnut soup typical of Piancastagnaio, refined with wild fennel. If you would like to discover everyday regional culture through seasonal festivals and traditional dishes, these two examples offer a particularly clear introduction.

Palio delle Contrade

The Palio delle Contrade takes place in Piancastagnaio on 18 August. The four contrade of Borgo, Castello, Coro and Voltaia take part. The fixed date and the four contrade give the event a distinctly local character and complement the destination's quieter historical and culinary aspects.

Routes around Piancastagnaio

Several routes described in different ways are available for planning walks. The route from Piancastagnaio to Poggio della Guardia is approximately 14 kilometres long. The route from Abbadia San Salvatore to Piancastagnaio connects the two most important villages of the Amiata area on the Sienese mountain slope. The circular route from Piancastagnaio to Poggio della Guardia starts and ends near the Santuario della Madonna di San Pietro on the outskirts of Piancastagnaio. This allows you to distinguish between an approximate route length, a connection between two places and a circular route with a defined start and finish.

You can also include Saragiolo as another destination in your selection of places.

For the overview of destinations: Siena.

More destinations

More places within the same destination:

Colle di Val dElsa, San Gimignano, San Quirico D'orcia, Anqua, Sarteano, Monticiano, Pienza.