Colline Metallifere · Maremma

Gerfalco

The untouched village below the Cornate, the roof of the Colline Metallifere.

Gerfalco is a small village in the municipality of Montieri, province of Grosseto, at the foot of the Cornate di Gerfalco: at 1,060 metres, the highest point of the Colline Metallifere, today the Cornate e Fosini Nature Reserve, whose visitor centre is in the village itself. The medieval layout has survived almost untouched: stone alleyways, silence, and high meadows from which, on clear days, the eye reaches the sea. In the Middle Ages silver was mined here; today people come for the footpaths, the air and the peace.

At the table

Mountain cooking: porcini mushrooms, chestnuts, tortelli, game, pecorino from the nearby Crete. In summer the village festivals bring traditional dishes out into the square.

Path through the chestnut woods around Gerfalco

Stone arch and stairway in the historic centre of Gerfalco

Wine and olive oil

This is the district of the Strada del Vino Monteregio delle Colline Metallifere; Toscano IGP extra virgin olive oil comes from the valleys below.

Festivals

Village life centres on the summer festivals, when Gerfalco families scattered across Italy come home; all year round, the Cornate Reserve offers walking among wild flowers, beech woods and long views — and the Geopark visitor centre tells the mining story.

Distances

Montieri: 15 minutes · Massa Marittima: 30 minutes · Siena: 50 minutes · Sea (Follonica): 50 minutes.