Saturnia & amp; Surroundings

The Gorello, the waterfalls of the Mulino or "cascatelle" and the modern spa complex that treasures the local and effective sulphurous waters.

Terme di Saturnia SPA & amp; Golf Resort

SATURNIA Saturnia is a small fraction of the Municipality of Manciano, however it has an international fame due to its source, its waterfalls and the modern spa complex that treasures the local and effective sulphurous waters. For years now a privileged destination for itinerant tourism, the Molino waterfalls are formed by a picturesque series of natural pools arranged on various levels, in which children of all ages splash around happily all year round, amidst swirls of hot steam from Dante’s circle. A legend tells that Saturn – the goddess of abundance – one day was angry with men for their constant wars. He threw a thunderbolt on the earth and made gushing sulphurous and warm water that covered the world and pacified it. From that water as welcoming as a mother’s womb, wiser and happier men were born. Theater of the legend was the heart of the Tuscan Maremma, Saturnia, where the water gushes with a flow rate of 500 liters per second at a constant temperature of 37.5 °. Also according to the legend, whose origin is lost in the mists of time, Saturnia was the oldest Italic city. Even though it owes its fortune – at least in recent times – to its thermal baths, Saturnia nevertheless deserves special attention both for its savory Maremma atmosphere and for the numerous points of historical interest, which do justice to its noble origins. History tells us that the settlement, high on a travertine plateau between the Albegna and Stellata rivers, developed in the Etruscan era (as shown by the tumolo tombs of the nearby Puntone necropolis, 7th-5th century BC) and was then conquered. by the Romans in the 3rd century BC They redesigned the plant and in the year and in the year 183 BC. they surrounded it with walls, as evidenced by the short upper section near the Porta Romana which fortunately survived the devastation that followed the Sienese conquest, which took place at the end of the 13th century. MONTEMERANO The medieval village of Montemerano, in the municipality of Manciano, is officially declared one of the “most beautiful villages in Italy”. Montemerano thus joins the four localities of the Tuscan Maremma that have obtained the important recognition, after Pitigliano, Giglio Castello, Sovana and lastly Porto Ercole. The small and charming village stands on a hill surrounded by the Maremma countryside, along the road that leads from Manciano to Saturnia. Those who have been lucky enough to visit Montemerano have no doubts in recognizing it among the most beautiful villages of the Tuscan Maremma. The history of the town of Montemerano begins in the second half of the 10th century, Montemerano loses its freedom in 1272 with the dominion of the Aldobrandeschi who consider it strategic for the control of the whole territory. The village is still protected today by three walls that preserve the medieval aspect of the place. Montemerano at the end of the 14th century was dominated by Siena, then by the Medici and subsequently in 1766 by the Lorraine. Entering the center we walk through a maze of medieval alleys, where the houses, the stone stairs are embellished with pots of plants. The flowers create splashes of color against the stone and transmit a true message of love and hospitality for those who are discovering the village. The Church of San Giorgio is also splendid, a jewel of Romanesque art that houses an exceptional collection of Renaissance works of art. The famous “Madonna della Gattaiola” is exhibited inside the church, painted around 1450 by an artist from the Sassetta school, nicknamed the Master of Montemerano. The work has a hole at the bottom and the legend that tells that it was made by a parish priest who, using the table as a door to a warehouse where food was stored in abundance, made the hole to allow the passage of his cat, a real controller and bitter enemy of rats. PITIGLIANO Pitigliano has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, subsequently, starting from the eighth century BC. There was an Etruscan settlement there, of which a short stretch of walls remains today, in large blocks of tuff, in the north-west part next to the Sovana Gate. In the area around Pitigliano, the numerous necropolises further testify to the Etruscan presence. It was a Roman city and in the Middle Ages it became a fief of the Aldobrandeschi and from 1293 to the Orsini, under the Orsini family, Pitigliano became the capital of the county of the same name, became a bishopric, supplanting Sovana, and then was named a city. With the extinction of the Orsini family, it became a fiefdom of Pietro Strozzi and then of Cosimo I de ‘Medici. At the beginning of the seventeenth century (1608) it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Pitigliano is one of the most scenic villages in Tuscany. In particular, coming from the state road 74, he reaches the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie, he cannot help but stop, enchanted and almost incredulous for the spectacle he faces: the village of Pitigliano suspended on its tuff cliff between valleys green. It is a magical vision, an illumination. The town of Pitigliano, built entirely of tuff, is inserted into the landscape with such compactness that it is almost impossible to separate the work of man from that of nature. And if you look around carefully, you get the impression that the light vibrates in unison with our thoughts, that the hills run towards us with their green effusions, that the tuff rocks still hide the Etruscan genius. The impression that Pitigliano gives, lying on its crescent-shaped cliff, isolated from the millennial erosion of three rivers that flow around it and defended by sixteenth-century fortifications, is that of a strong and iron complex, marked by the art of war but softened by the touch of the Renaissance. The houses of the town are built on the edge of the cliff forming with it a single body and a rather picturesque whole. The Pitigliano cliff is surrounded on three sides by ravines which are full of caves carved into the tuff. SOVANA Important Etruscan center, medieval and Renaissance village, as well as an episcopal seat. Birthplace of Gregory VII, Sovana was a bishopric and reached its peak in the thirteenth century under the lordship of the Aldobrandeschi. The city of Sovana has (fortunately) kept most of its main features unaltered – managing to avoid the Baroque-style renovations that too many times have changed the appearance of many churches, monuments and cities in this area in Tuscany. Smaller when compared to Sorano or Pitigliano, it has managed to preserve that charm that is breathed in all its magic: the landscape, the food, the wine and the Città del Tufo Archaeological Park will leave you speechless. Particularly suitable for those who do not like to go back and forth to get on or off and visit the historic center, the town is spread out in a flat area. It is a real pleasure to stroll through the alleys of Sovana, where no flowers seem out of place and the house numbers are hand painted. SORANO Sorano is a village with houses all leaning against it, perched on a volcanic tuff cliff on which a fortress stands. This is the Orsini Fortress: an imposing fortification from 1552. From the top of the terrace you can enjoy a special view over the whole village while the basements are a veritable labyrinth of tunnels. Just near the fortress stands what is known as the Masso Leopoldino, a large tuff stone whose walls were smoothed by hand and on the top of which a sort of terrace was created. Sorano, an ancient city that flourished in the brightest period of the Etruscan era, is a sort of summary of all the beauty that characterized the ancient civilization. Founded on a high rock that time has come to resemble a natural cliff, and barely softened by Renaissance architecture, it is surrounded by imposing walls that helped make it one of the safest defensive offshoots in the County of Pitigliano. Sorano belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family who made it grow as a defensive village, fortifying it with ramparts within which the oldest village is still preserved today. Due to its perched conformation and its clump of houses and perched and picturesque streets Sorano is also known as “Matera of Tuscany”. THE CAVE STREETS The Vie Cave, also called “cut”, are a still little known creation of the Etruscans. These fascinating open-air roadways in the tuff hills have no comparison in other civilizations of the ancient world. For this reason, numerous hypotheses have been made about their real function: channels to convey rainwater from the plains to the valleys, simple communication routes, strategic passages designed against enemies, ceremonial paths and so on … Inside the Archaeological Park of the City of Tufo, the Vie Cave of Sorano and Sovana lead the visitor to the discovery of the Etruscan necropolis. Walking in the “cut”, between tuff walls even more than twenty meters high, is an emotion impossible to describe. Walking along these routes, immersed in a suggestive and uncontaminated natural environment, allows you to immerse yourself in a magical atmosphere, in contact with the subsoil and with an “other” dimension. In a landscape characterized by wide tufaceous plains carved by deep valleys, these steep, winding and deeply carved paths in the tufaceous rock allow you to save travel times by connecting the inhabited centers, the cultivated countryside on the hills, the necropolises and other settlements. The use of these “shortcuts” continued until fairly recent times and today the Vie Cave continue to be traveled by hikers and visitors who are fascinated by the suggestive dimension and a unique naturalistic environment. In this regard, we must not forget the importance that the Vie Cave have from an ecological-environmental point of view. The particular climatic and environmental conditions developed in these paths, have determined a microclimate that has favored the growth of plants typical of humid and shady environments. Saturnia thermal baths The Parco delle Piscine delle Terme di Saturnia, located downstream of the town with four thermal pools, whirlpools, artificial waterfalls and vascular paths in both hot and cold water, is practically placed where a crater of volcanic origin emerges without alterations of any kind. ” water at 37.5 degrees of heat, with a high concentration of gases and minerals (it is actually sulphurous-carbonic-sulphate-bicarbonate-alkaline-earthy water). Due to its composition, this source is therapeutic for numerous diseases, in particular dermatological, ENT, respiratory, motor (arthrosis), veno-lymphatic and digestive systems. As a guest you will benefit from discounted rates at the thermal baths of Saturnia and the golf course of the Terme di Saturnia Golf & SPA Resort. Waterfalls Just two km away from Saturnia and from our structure, are the Gorello Waterfalls or better known as Cascate del Mulino, because they are close to an ancient restored building that was used for grinding wheat. The Waterfalls of the Mulino di Saturnia are certainly the most evocative naturalistic attractions to be proud of. At the sight you are delighted and struck by the extraordinary beauty and strength of nature, unique and particular of its kind. The Cascate del Mulino are the result of the strength and quantity of sulphurous waters (about 600 liters per second) of the Terme di Saturnia that descend from above, forming small waterfalls that are continuously filled with water. They offer a unique spectacle, with white and sulphurous steaming waters (especially in winter) that flow from a picturesque waterfall into the stream below, the Stellata. Frequented by swimmers and locals in every season of the year, given the warmth of the therapeutic water and its deposition in comfortable natural pools, these waterfalls are constantly evolving because the calcium carbonate deposits modify their course. The thermal waters of the waterfalls as well as being famous for their beneficial properties, also represent an excellent opportunity for tourists with few economic possibilities as they are completely free: just reach the Tuscan Maremma, wear a costume, park and immerse yourself in the warm sulphurous waters. .