Type: historical, landscape, and cultural
Approximate distance: 44 km
This time the proposed route crosses one of the most strategic and least-told areas of Southern Tuscany, where the landscape has been shaped by the theme of the border: political, military, and natural border between Amiata, Maremma, and the tuff area. It starts from Santa Fiora, leaving behind the water and woods of the village to enter a rougher territory, marked by ridges, deep valleys, and fortified strongholds.
🌲 La Selva: the convent and the legend of the “Cifero Serpente”
The Selva di Santa Fiora area is one of the places where nature, history, and popular tale overlap almost naturally. In the heart of the woods lies the Convento della Santissima Trinità (Convent of the Holy Trinity), a complex of medieval origin enlarged between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by the Sforza of Santa Fiora, built along ancient pilgrimage routes and immersed in a dense fir forest that still today amplifies its secluded and symbolic character.
The convent was also frequented in the Lorraine era: a plaque commemorates the visit of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany in the 19th century, a sign of the importance that this place held not only on a religious level, but also political and territorial within the Grand Duchy.
One of the most famous Amiata legends is also linked to La Selva, that of the Dragon of the Selva (or Cifero Serpente – Lucifer Serpent). According to tradition, a monstrous animal terrorized the population until Guido Sforza killed it, bringing its head as proof to the convent. The relic, still visible today, is probably an exotic skull, but the story continues to live as a symbol of the profound relationship between the woods, fear, and the need for collective protection.
Today, La Selva unites forest landscape, historical memory, and a legendary dimension, offering one of the most evocative readings of the relationship between man, nature, and imagination in this part of Tuscany.
🏰 Rocca Silvana: power, mines, and visual control
The heart of the itinerary is the Rocca Silvana, one of the most imposing fortifications in the Amiata area. Of medieval origin and linked to the Aldobrandeschi power system, the fortress had a crucial strategic function: controlling the internal routes of the Fiora valley and the areas linked to cinnabar extraction, a fundamental resource for the local economy.
From the fortress, you can enjoy spectacular views of the valley, the surrounding hills, and the woods of La Selva: a privileged point to understand how sight was a tool for governing the territory. The restorations have restored legibility to the wall structures, allowing a visit today that combines military architecture and landscape.
🏘️ Triana: a village built for defense
Descending from the fortress, you reach Triana, a small village perched on a rocky spur. The settlement maintains a compact and clearly defensive structure, with remains of fortifications and controlled views of the territory. Triana is the perfect example of a border settlement, where the shape of the village is dictated more by the need for protection than by expansion needs.
🏡 Cellena: ancient traces and rural landscape
The itinerary continues towards Cellena, today one of the smallest hamlets in the area, but significant for reading the continuity of settlement in the territory. In the surroundings there are traces of ancient frequentation and sites like Corte Vecchia, which testify to an Etruscan and medieval presence linked to agricultural management and resource control. Cellena also offers panoramic openings towards the valley and the Maremma countryside, marking the passage from the fortified dimension to the rural one.
Why choose it
An ideal itinerary for those who want to discover castles, fortified villages, and panoramic points outside the best-known circuits, reading the landscape as the result of military strategies, economic resources, and human adaptation. Perfect for those who love secondary roads and places that recount the territory through fortresses, legends, wide views, and essential settlements, more than through grand monuments.
