What is Piancastagnaio known for?

Costumed race run every 18 August between four contrade through the centro storico, dating to the eighteenth century. Sweet chestnut harvested across the Monte Amiata slopes, celebrated each All Saints weekend at the Crastatone festival. Cinnabar and mercury extraction active on Monte Amiata from the Etruscans until 1982, documented in the Sant'Anna museum.

Where is Piancastagnaio?

Piancastagnaio is a comune in the province of Siena, Tuscany region of Italy, about 99 kilometers from Perugia.

Tuscany · Siena

Piancastagnaio

A chestnut-belt borgo at 772 meters on the southern slope of Monte Amiata, where four contrade still race for the Palio delle Contrade each August.

772m

Elevation

99 km / 62 mi

Nearest hub (Perugia)

3,871

Population

May–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Piancastagnaio sits at 772 meters on the southern slope of Monte Amiata, the extinct volcanic cone that dominates the southern Sienese landscape. The name means plain of the chestnut, and the surrounding forest of sweet chestnut, sessile oak and beech is what fed the town for most of its history. The Aldobrandeschi counts built the rocca that still anchors the centro storico in the twelfth century; it passed to Siena in 1418 and to the Medici in 1559. The Palio delle Contrade, run every 18 August since the eighteenth century, divides the town into four contrade (Borgo, Castello, Coro, Voltaia) that race in costume through the centro storico. The Sant'Anna Mining Museum documents the cinnabar and mercury extraction that ran on Monte Amiata from Etruscan times until the mine closed in 1982. The Crastatone, the chestnut roasting festival on All Saints weekend, fills the streets with woodsmoke and the smell of roasted marroni.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca Aldobrandesca
Twelfth-century Aldobrandeschi keep at the heart of the centro storico, with a square tower and surviving curtain wall.
Palazzo Bourbon del Monte
Sixteenth-century Medici-era palazzo built into the medieval defenses, with a courtyard loggia and ceremonial hall.
Museo Minerario di Sant'Anna
Mining museum on the cinnabar and mercury extraction of Monte Amiata, active from the Etruscans until the mine closed in 1982.
Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta
Romanesque parish church in the centro storico, with a stone façade and later baroque interior.
Bosco del Monte Amiata
Sweet chestnut, sessile oak and beech forest on the southern slope of the volcano, with trails leading to the summit at 1,738 meters.

When to visit

Best months · May–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season on the southern Amiata slope. The chestnut woods are open, the air at 772 meters stays cool against the Maremma heat below, and the trails to the volcano summit run from town. The Palio delle Contrade is the second weekend in August, the only date most outsiders know. October and into early November bring the Crastatone, the chestnut roasting festival on All Saints weekend, with woodsmoke through the streets and the marroni piled in the piazza. November through April is quiet and often cold. Some pensioni close, the upper trails see snow, and the chestnut ovens keep working through winter for the local clientele.