San Gimignano, Monteriggioni e Volterra

This is a very interesting panoramic trail through the Pliocene basin of Volterra. Follow the country lane down from the water font at Borgo Santo Stefano, turn left and proceed until you pass an alabaster workshop which leads to the main road to Montecatini Val di Cecina. On your right you can admire the outstanding view of the precipitous ravines called Le Balze which looms over the clay basin of the Era valley.

The little village of Citerna leads you through open fields and pasture land spread out over the soft rolling hills. From the road you can admire the erosions caused by the clay soil (there is one near the Infrascato farm house). Turn right at the SS.439 crossroads, follow the road to Montecatini, and between km 92 and 93 turn right in the direction of Volterra. The road takes you through a landscape of barren hills and rugged clay gullies to the little XI century church of Santa Lucia at Corbano, the village of San Cipriano and the road back to Volterra.

This walk up to Volterra is particularly awe-inspiring: from here you can admire the majestic view of the Balze, an enormous abyss originated by the erosive action of the meteoric waters which permeated through the permeable sandy deposit of the hill of Volterra removing the impermeable underlying clays and creating in this way the progressive fall of the superposed sandy stratum.

The deep rugged crags were created by the natural erosion of the arenaceous layers of Pliocene and in the XVII century it engulfed the Etruscan necropolis and the church of San Giusto in Botro. Back to Volterra we suggest a visit to the abandoned Camaldolite Abbey built in the XI century.