Colline Metallifere · Maremma

Castel del Piano

The oldest Palio on Monte Amiata and the Montecucco wine road.

Castel del Piano is the main town on the Grosseto side of Monte Amiata, at 637 metres above sea level, in the province of Grosseto: a compact medieval centre gathered around the Clock Tower, a full range of services, and the mountain with its ski runs and woods only minutes away. The area has produced olive oil, wine and chestnuts for centuries.

At the table

Amiata cooking: chestnuts (this is Castagna del Monte Amiata IGP country), porcini mushrooms, tortelli, pici, game and Tuscan pecorino DOP. In the hamlet of Montenero d'Orcia — the second capital of Montecucco — the Sagra delle Lasagne is a delicious date in the calendar, and the Museum of the Vine and Wine, with its museum vineyard, tells the story of the tradition.

The church façade in the historic centre of Castel del Piano

Jockeys and horses racing at the Palio delle Contrade in Castel del Piano

Wine and olive oil

Castel del Piano lies within the Montecucco DOC and Montecucco Sangiovese DOCG area, along the Strada del Vino Montecucco e dei Sapori d'Amiata; a short distance away, Seggiano produces its DOP oil from the Olivastra Seggianese olive.

Festivals

On 8 September the Palio delle Contrade is run in honour of the Madonna delle Grazie: four districts, the historic procession, the good-luck dinners on the eve and the horse race — the village's most deeply felt tradition, rooted in a devotion dating back to 1430.

Distances

Grosseto: approx. 55 minutes · Monte Amiata (ski slopes): 15 minutes · Siena: 1 hour 10 · Montalcino and Val d'Orcia: 30 minutes · Sea: 1 hour 15.