After you’re satiated with the porcini mushroom goodness at the Santa Fiora mushroom festival, work off your lunch with a meander through the winding medieval alleyways of Santa Fiora, clinging to the slopes of Monte Amiata.
As you enter the fortified town’s main square, you’ll note the stately crenellated belltower on Palazzo Sforza-Cesarini, sign of the town’s bellicose past.
Silence reigns in the medieval backstreets, belying past strifes. Sculpted lintels top many an entryway, a characteristic of the urban architecture of the town. You’ll even see one depicting a primitive image of a wild boar hunt. Note those doorways as you stroll.
Follow the signs leading you to the 12th-c church la Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla tucked away in a small backstreet piazza. Restored over the centuries, the church shows off Renaissance glories: a number of blue and white maiolica altarpieces, some adorned with boughs of fruit and vegetation. Who else but Andrea Della Robbia? (15th c)
Not far from the Pieve, you’ll hear the gurgle of the running water of la Peschiera, fish hatchery of the noble Aldobrandeschi family – counts of Santa Fiora as of the 13th-century – where trout were bred for royal feasts.
When la Peschiera was landscaped in the mid-19th century, the water flow was directed through a metallic grill topped with sculptures of dolphins and a trident (pagan symbol of water) into a huge watering basin where farmers once led oxen and donkeys to drink. In the last century, the watering basin was converted into the wash area for the local women. A young couple was washing there when we visited: not laundry but wine-making equipment (use of soap no longer allowed here).
At one time, the local women washed clothes in the wash basin area of the Peschiera
Passing the wash basin area, we entered a small church with a Della Robbia sculpture over the door. Inside, a glass floor spread out before the altar: we could see the spring water of la Peschiera flowing over the rocks under the church floor.
The bucolic beauty of la Peschiera at the base of the rocky cliffs backdropping Santa Fiora underscores once again what I already know: Italy is the land of endless discoveries.
Read more about the Santa Fiora mushroom festival
Read about the chestnut festival in nearby Arcidosso, near Santa Fiora
Wonderful pictures, Anne! You truly take us along for the journey with your pictures and descriptions. I like seeing that you and Pino get to spend time together with your busy schedules.
What a sorry town, thank you for sharing. Love all the pictures!
Yes, a memorable weekend and always such a joy to stumble on new discoveries.
Never-ending.