Saturnia, Pitigliano and the southern borders
Driving south from Arcidosso on a winding road through the hills, suddenly you find yourself face to face with columns of white smoke coming from the slopes. It is a sulphate land, a landscape full of underground spas, which are periodically used as an energy source for this wildest and most desolate region of Tuscany. Occasionally buses run on the road (supported by RAMA), but it is worth the effort, to get to the fountains of Saturnia. Also, if you are tired of the crowds of tourists in Tuscany, it is the cities located at the southern end of the province that should provide you with respite.
Saturnia thermal baths
Sulfur springs in TERME DI SATURNIA are not that easy to find. Driving along the road beyond the village of SATURNIA, you reach the signs leading right to the great spa complex (with enormous entrance fees and a five-star hotel). A few hundred yards further there is an unpaved road on the left, unmarked, but there is usually a group of cars and motorhomes standing there. This is where the cascate is located, streams of sulphate waters flowing from springs on the hills and forming natural heated rock pools. Here, admission is unlimited and free.
The springs create a rather bizarre sight - especially surreal in cloudy weather, when the steam goes up - and they enjoy a certain fame: it happens, that social groups come here in the evenings from Rome. However, the fun is just as good at any time of the day and you can swim up to your neck in sulphated water for a few hours.. The only sign of commercialization in this area is a small cafe.
After spending some time near the springs, you need to shower, to wash away the smell of sulfur, which is not too pushy when bathing, but it can last for a few days. O 2 km north there is a campsite, a 1 km south on the road to Manciano the small Albergo-Ristorante. In saturnia there is also a hotel, Saturnia (0564/601007), as well as rooms for rent (•0564/601034) and a couple of pizzeria-trattoria. Alternatively, you can drive south to MANCIANO, where stands a large Sienese castle and several hotels, be to the more handsome Pitigliano.
Pitigliano
PitIGLIANO is best reached by road from Manciano to the west. The city rises on magnificent erratic tuff rocks, and the districts are connected by a powerful aqueduct. It is the largest village in the southern region of Tuscany, and for centuries it was known for its thriving Jewish community— murdered during the last war.. Today, Pitigliano is characterized by a bit of gloomy haughtiness, partly thanks to the mighty fortress – separating the old upper town from the modern lower suburb – and partly thanks to the high streets of the old Jewish quarter.
With its Renaissance monuments and picturesque location, the city is a good place for a night stop. In Piazza Petruccioli, where you arrive by bus or car (parking place), there is the only local hotel, modest two-star Albergo Guastino (0564/616065) with doubles after 32000 L, there should be places. For a meal, you can go to the hotel restaurant or to the pizzeria-birrerii Chalet II Noce in Piazza Garibaldi, through the gate from Piazza Petruccioli.
It's best to start your journey through the city from Piazza Garibaldi, next to which the fortress and the aqueduct stand, and there are views of the houses clinging to the rock walls. The aqueduct and the fortress are peers, completed in the mid-sixteenth century. by Sangalla the Younger, along with a complicated defense team; inside the fortress rises the renaissance Palazzo Orsini.
You reach via Romana and the winding side streets of the old ghetto through the square. The arrows point to the ruins of the Jewish synagogue and bakery behind the baroque cathedral. Behind Porte Capisotto, at the western end of the hill, you can also find traces of Etruscan walls.
Sovana
SOVANA, located Fr. 8 km from Pitigliano on the side, but a very picturesque circular road from Saturnia to Arcidosso, it was the capital of this southern region in the Middle Ages. Her abundance was to some extent due to this, that Pope Gregory VII was born here (1073-85). His family built a fortress, but otherwise little remains of its former glory: malaria and the Siena raids led the city to a rapid collapse. Today's Sovana, a handful of low-rise buildings around the Romanesque church, the modest Palazzo Pretorio and small public buildings, it is in decline and is partially abandoned.
Even fewer tourists come here than to Pitigliano, but having your own transport, it is definitely worth going here. 1.5 km to the south there is a complex of Etruscan tombs with facades carved in the rock. The most interesting is Tomba Ildebranda, built in the form of a temple, with well-preserved entrance stairs. If you want to spend the night in Sovana, Etruscan tavern (0567/615539) has several rooms included in the price 25000-40000 L depending on the season.