Your Authentic Tuscan Experience Off the Beaten Path
(78Km 1h 15min) The valley is an important natural, and cultural heritage (UNESCO) for the excellent state of preservation of the landscape. The most important towns are San Quirico and Castiglione.
The Val d'Orcia is a wide valley located in Tuscany, in the province of Siena and in part within that of Grosseto, in the north and east of Mount Amiata and near the border with Umbria. Crossed by the river Orcia, the center, which gives it its name, is characterized by pleasant landscaped panoramas and a number of medieval villages, two of which are well known as Pienza and Montalcino. Characteristic tree cypress, food and wines Pici, the Cinta Senese, Pecorino di Pienza, Brunello di Montalcino and the new name of the Orcia DOC wine.
The municipalities that are part of the Val d'Orcia Castiglione d'Orcia, Montalcino, Pienza, Radicofani, and San Quirico d'Orcia. Other important towns are Contignano, Montichiello, Bagno Vignoni, Rocca d'Orcia, Campiglia d'Orcia, Bagni San Filippo, Vivo d'Orcia. They are located in the Val d'Orcia also some places in the province of Grosseto as Montenero d'Orcia and Montegiovi, surroundings of the town of Casteldelpiano. Many farms, houses and fortresses with steep towers are dispersed in the isolated and peaceful landscape.
Heritage
The valley is also an important park, natural, artistic and cultural heritage, and from 2 July 2004, he was recognized World Heritage Site by UNESCO, for the excellent state of preservation of the landscape, as produced by an intelligent work of human , which has had a significant influence on many artists of the Renaissance. The committee thus justified the inclusion in the list:
The nature conservation area
The protection of UNESCO adds protection as Italian Natural Protected Area of Local Interest (ANPIL) "Val d'Orcia" since 1999, covering an area of 18,500 hectares. In part, including the ANPIL is also the site of regional interest, proposed as a Site of Community Importance (SCI), "Volcanic Cone of Mount Amiata" (code IT51A0017).
SIR "volcanic cone of Mount Amiata"
The volcanic cone of Mount Amiata is characterized by a high mountain landscape with continuous forest matrix.
Volcanic cone of Mount Amiata
The main critical elements within the site are:
The main critical factors external to the site are:
The main conservation objectives are to be taken:
Guidelines for the conservation measures:
Geomorphology
The type of environment prevailing on the volcanic cone of Mount Amiata is the presence of fitocenotiche very representative types (forests and chestnut coppices), and peculiar (beech mesotrofiche ipsofile) for isolation and ecological topography of the volcano. Discreet, at times very good, the state of preservation. Other types are the relevant environmental grasslands secondary.
Fauna
The bird, little known, includes some rare and endangered species related to the few open areas, as well as various species of birds of prey. Present the harrier (Circaetus gallicus), probabibilmente with more nesting pairs.
To signal the presence of the predator Felis silvestris silvestris and among the amphibians, Triturus carnifex, Italian endemism. Invertebrates are also rare, localized and endemic.
Among the reptiles: the four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) and Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni).
Flora
Major emergencies in the plant communities: Beech altitude of Monte Amiata (Monotropo-Fagetum sylvaticae (Arrigoni et Nardi) Ubaldi). Among the plant species: the bivonea Savi Jonopsidium savianum, rare species present at some stations in Tuscany hills subcoastal Livorno and a station at the foot of M. Amiata, the elleborine of Persia (Epipactis persica subsp. Pontica), very rare entity in Italy, famous in Tuscany for two localities of Monte Amiata.
Social Val d'Orcia