Tuscany · Grosseto
Santa Fiora
An Aldobrandeschi and Sforza mountain borgo on Monte Amiata at 687 meters, holding one of the world's largest collections of Della Robbia terracotta.
Known for
DELLA ROBBIA
One of the world's largest collections of Andrea della Robbia glazed terracotta, commissioned by the Sforza counts between 1480 and 1495.
PESCHIERA SFORZESCA
Sixteenth-century walled pool at the source of the Fiora river, built by the Sforza counts as a private fish reserve under a hilltop chapel.
MONTE AMIATA
Extinct volcano of southern Tuscany, beech and chestnut forests on the slopes above Santa Fiora, source of the Fiora and Albegna rivers.
When to visit
Best · May–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Flora, Lucilla, Eugenio e compagni, 29 July
Why come
Santa Fiora sits on the wooded southern slope of Monte Amiata at 687 meters, forty kilometers east of Grosseto. The Aldobrandeschi held the hill from the eleventh century, walling the borgo and starting the Castello Aldobrandesco in 1082; through the late Middle Ages and Renaissance it passed to the Sforza branch that produced the Sforza-Cesarini, Counts of Santa Fiora. Inside the Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla, founded before the year 1000 and rebuilt in the thirteenth century, the family commissioned a series of glazed terracotta works from the Andrea della Robbia workshop between 1480 and 1495, including the Baptism of Christ, the Coronation of the Virgin and the pulpit Last Supper.
The Peschiera, the walled pool the Sforza created in the sixteenth century from the spring of the Fiora river, holds carp and trout in clear water under a small chapel with another della Robbia inside. The Fiora river leaves Santa Fiora and runs all the way down to the Tyrrhenian.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Santa Fiora’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Pieve delle Sante Flora e Lucilla
Twelfth-century parish church with one of the world's largest collections of glazed terracotta by Andrea della Robbia, commissioned 1480-1495.
Peschiera Sforzesca
Walled pool built by the Sforza in the sixteenth century at the source of the Fiora river, with the small Chapel of the Madonna delle Nevi alongside.
Castello Aldobrandesco
Aldobrandeschi castle started in 1082, the original walled core of the borgo, later residence of the Sforza-Cesarini counts.
Chiesa della Santissima Trinità
Sixteenth-century church on the lower edge of the borgo, with simple stone façade and an interior holding a further della Robbia relief.
Fiume Fiora
River that takes its name from the borgo and rises at the Peschiera, running 78 kilometers down through Maremma to the Tyrrhenian at Montalto di Castro.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 2,490
- Off the beaten pathi
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 2 h 51 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 2 h 27 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 687 m
- Population: 2,490
- Surface area: 63.45 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Santa Fiora
Piancastagnaio
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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.
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Pitigliano
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Radicofani
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Montalcino
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🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
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