Santa Fiora – History, Museums and La Peschiera

Santa Fiora combines a clearly recognizable historic structure with museums, a water landscape, music and regional products. The historic center lies on a trachyte hill and is divided into the three districts of Castello, Borgo and Montecatino. For your travel planning, this creates a place where history is reflected not only in individual sights but also in the organically developed form of the center.

History in Museums and Religious Buildings

The Museo della Contea presents the history of Santa Fiora through historic interiors, documents and portraits from the private Sforza Cesarini collection. The exhibition is complemented by a multimedia presentation. The Museo delle Miniere di Mercurio del Monte Amiata offers a different approach to the past. In five exhibition rooms, the museum presents the history of mining and the associated developments that shaped the Monte Amiata area between the 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the area between Santa Fiora and Castell’Azzara.

The museum also includes a reconstructed underground tunnel created by miners. It illustrates the working environment in mining. An archaeological section displays finds from the 3rd century BC. The museum’s chronological scope therefore extends from antiquity to the formative mining developments of more recent regional history.

The Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla also represents the long history of the town. It has been documented since 1142 and features Gothic and Renaissance elements. The patronal festival, Festa delle Sante Flora e Lucilla, takes place every year on July 29. The celebration includes a procession through Santa Fiora with the relics of the two saints.

La Peschiera: Water, Garden and Nature

La Peschiera tells the history of the town through its own development. The medieval basin was initially used for breeding trout. In the 15th century, the Sforza family transformed it into an aristocratic garden; in the 19th century, it became an English-style park. Today, it is home to trout, mallards and swans. The surrounding vegetation includes fir trees, cypresses, magnolias, oaks and chestnut trees, among others.

La Peschiera is free of architectural barriers. Another unusual perspective is provided by a partially glass floor: it offers a view of the ancient road and the exact location of the Fiora spring. Here, water, historical layers and direct views of the landscape come together at the same destination.

Music and Regional Products

The Santa Fiora in Musica festival features a summer program from June to September. Concerts take place at the Teatro Andrea Camilleri and the Auditorium della Peschiera in Santa Fiora. Those wishing to combine culture with regional specialties will encounter the Strada del Vino Montecucco e dai sapori dell’Amiata in Santa Fiora. The route leads to regional products such as Montecucco DOC and the IGP chestnuts of Monte Amiata.

For further discoveries, you can also visit Bagnore and Selva. Other destinations: Cinigiano, Borgo Carige, Roccalbegna, Grosseto, Scansano and Valpiana.

To the overview of the higher-level destination: Grosseto.