Water way

map	variation	tracks and GPS waypoint

Total length	Km. 12,4 (+6,8)
Total difference of levels	mt. 51
Travelling times	1h 30' (+1h 00')	4h 00' (+1h 30')
Difficulty	medium-low (+high)

Water is the characterising facet of this course which, starting from the Primo rifugio (First Hut), touches on springs as important and copious as those of the Vivo. It is characterised by a 12.4 km-long trail, structured with "medium-low" degrees of difficulty, and which winds mainly along wooded areas on the mountain slope facing the built-up Vivo d'Orcia area. The "Variante del Vivo" (Vivo Variation), instead, taking the in and out legs into consideration, totals 6.8 km with a total difference in height amounting to 309 metres and classified as being a "high" degree of difficulty. Along the way, beyond the Fonte Capovetra (Capovetra Spring), another important spring with a nearby equipped rest area, interesting and evocative rocks ("Porta Rock" and "de'Merchi Rock") can also be found. The path, rising gradually to a total of about 51 metres difference in level, ends up at the Museo Minerario (Mining Museum).

Sasso de' Merchi / Sasso Porta
(de' Merchi Rock / Door Rock)
The Mount Amiata area has been characterised by volcanic phenomena that continued through the ages until about 290,000/180,000 years ago. Many of the rocky formations caused by the flow of volcanic lava assumed particular shapes. This is the case of the "Sasso Porta", a rock characterised by a slit penetrating it from side to side much as a door lock; or that of the "Seggiola del Diavolo" (Devil's Chair), an isolated rock in the shape of a throne. Many of these boulders, thanks to their considerable sizes or to their particular shape, have been historically utilised as boundary markers. This is the case of the "Sasso degli Albinelli" (Albinelli Rock) and the "Sasso de' Merchi" (de' Merchi Rock) which carry inscriptions that are still visible to this day.

Le sorgenti (The springs)
Due to volcanic eruptions, the pliocenic rocks as well as those of prior formation, have been subjected to a layer of lava which hardened into black and porous rock of trachitic origin, known as "peperino". Characterised by multiple fractures it allows in-depth rainwater infiltration, thus giving origin to numerous springs and thermal water beds. It is because of this wealth of water (over 200 litres a minute) that the Vivo springs were chosen as a solution to the perpetual lack of water from which the city of Siena suffered, by means of the construction of an aqueduct, about 140 Km long, which was inaugurated in 1931. Still today, after more than 70 years, this water supply connection is of fundamental importance to a great part of the Siena Province. Always thanks to this water, in the Vivo d'Orcia neighbourhood, it is possible to enjoy the little lake and waterfall formed along the bed of the torrent by the same name. The Rifugio Capoverta (Capovetra Hut) can also be found along the course, providing a pleasant halting place with its equipped rest area and homonymous springs.

The Ermicciolo
This hermitage was established at the beginning of the XIIth century in the centre of a magnificent chestnut grove. The Ermicciolo is a small Romanesque church with some nineteenth century reconstruction and evocative decorations consisting of small columns on the façade and suspended arches in the apse. It is also used as the Cervini family tomb.

Drying rooms and Chestnuts
The chestnut drying rooms are structures divided between two levels by a trellis made of poles resting on beams, with a door accessing the lower level and two windows and an opening on the upper level through which the chestnuts were loaded. Their purpose was the drying of this fruit by means of a slow-burning fire which was lit on the lower level, and which had to be kept alight for at least twenty days. This fruit, much in demand during the fall season, (to be enjoyed as roast chestnuts - or caldarroste), at one time represented the only food available to mountain families. In fact, after having been desiccated, it would be transported by donkey to the mill where, having been ground into flour, it would then be used for making chestnut flour meal, a dish that was never absent from the tables of the Amiata families and which has today become one of the most typical dishes of the area.