Amiata

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monte Amiata
Amiata z04.jpg
height 1738  m slm
location Tuscany , Italy
Coordinates 42 ° 53 '17 "  N , 11 ° 37' 22"  E Coordinates: 42 ° 53 '17 "  N , 11 ° 37' 22"  E
Amiata (Tuscany)
Amiata
Type Lava dome
rock Rhyolite , trachyte
Age of the rock Pleistocene
f6

The Monte Amiata is a mountain of volcanic origin in Italy .

geography

The mountain, formerly also known as Mons Tunii , Mons Tuniatus and Mons Ad Meata , covers an area of ​​933.66  km 2 and is about 47 kilometers northeast of Grosseto and 55 kilometers southeast of Siena , halfway between Florence (100 Kilometers north) and Rome (130 kilometers southeast), and with 1738 m represents the highest elevation in southern Tuscany . The second highest elevation in the mountain area is Monte Labbro , the third highest is Monte Civitella (1107 m), both of which belong to the Amiata. The Monte Civitella includes the hill Monte Penna (1086 m), the Monte Buceto is in the immediate vicinity. The Amiatagebiet is surrounded by the Val d'Orcia , parts of the Valdichiana , parts of the metalliferous hills and the upper Maremma and forms the boundary between the südtoskanischen provinces Grosseto and Siena . A total of eleven municipalities are located on the territory, including seven in the province of Grosseto ( Arcidosso , Castel del Piano , Castell'Azzara , Roccalbegna , Santa Fiora , Seggiano and Semproniano ) and four in the province of Siena ( Abbadia San Salvatore , Castiglione d ' Orcia , Piancastagnaio and Radicofani ).

In addition to belonging to the provinces, the municipalities are also organized in Comuni Montani . The Unione dei Comuni Montani Amiata Grossetana contains the seven municipalities of Cinigiano , the Senese side ( Unione dei Comuni Amiata Val d'Orcia ) is equipped with the four municipalities and three (of the five) municipalities of the Val d'Orcia, whereby Pienza and Montalcino are missing and Castiglione d'Orcia and Radicofani already belong to the Amiata area.

The rivers or Torrenti Ente , Fiora , Paglia and Vivo have their source in the mountain area , with the Paglia flowing to the southeast and entering the Tiber , the Fiora flowing directly to the southwest into the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Vivo via the Ente in a northwestern direction into the Orcia and then reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea via the Ombrone (both in the immediate vicinity of the Amiata).

history

Summit cross
Madonna degli Scouts statue

The place is mentioned for the first time in a document on the maps of the Codex Diplomaticus Amiatinus from the year 787. The Aldobrandeschi family, who ruled most places in the Middle Ages from the 10th to the 12th centuries , had a special influence on the area Owned castles. Thereafter, Siena increasingly took over the rule (until 1555, when Siena had to surrender to Florence). The cartographer Ieronico Bell'Amato wrote a map in 1558 in which the mountain is called Monte Tuniata . It appears as Montagnata in 1612. In addition, the names Monte di Siena or Monte di Santa Fiora were common. Giovanna Arcamone, professor at the University of Pisa , introduced the theory in 1986 that the origin of the name refers to the German word Heimat and was then transformed into the Langobard language . Mining began in the middle of the 19th century, with the Etruscans and Romans already trying to exploit the potential. The first mine was built in 1847 near the Siele river , now the area of ​​Castell'Azzara. The most important mines were built in Abbadia San Salvatore from 1897. The end of mining on the Amiate was sealed in the 1950s. The 22 m high iron summit cross was erected in 1910. The initiative comes from Pope Leo XIII. from 1900. The architect was Luciano Zalaffi from Senese. The ten-year construction period is due to a lack of money. The construction was severely damaged in June 1944 by the hostilities of the Second World War. The repaired structure was then inaugurated on August 24, 1946. The marble statue of the Madonna degli Scouts , located a few meters from the summit cross, was created in 1965.

volcano

The volcano was active in the Pleistocene , around 400,000 to 200,000 years ago. The Amiata has not erupted in 180,000 years, but hot springs and geysers still point to its volcanic origin. These are used accordingly for geothermal energy generation, e.g. B. the geothermal power station in Piancastagnaio with a capacity of 140 MW.

The mined cinnabar deposits on Monte Amiata, from which mercury was industrially extracted in Abbadia San Salvatore until the end of the 1970s, are also of volcanic origin .

Flora and fauna

Most of the slopes are densely forested with chestnuts , beeches , spruces ( pigello ) and oaks . In the animal world one encounters short-toed eagles , Egyptian vultures , Lanner falcons and wolves , among other species .

tourism

The mountain is suitable for skiing, the snow often lies until spring.

The hiking trails are mainly located in the forest zone, but also lead to the vicinity of mines from the 19th century and through medieval towns that were mainly built along the Via Cassia , here identical to the Franconian road : Abbadia San Salvatore , Piancastagnaio with one well preserved fortress.

Other places of interest are the nature reserves, including that of Mount Labbro, Pescinello , the Rocconi forest ; the chestnut woods of Castel del Piano; the Il Giardino sculpture park by Daniel Spoerri in Seggiano; Castell'Azzara with the Renaissance villa La Sforzesca, or the districts of Castiglione d'Orcia: the thermal baths of Bagni San Filippo , the fortress of Rocca d'Orcia and the monuments of Campiglia d'Orcia .

literature

Web links

Commons : Monte Amiata  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Emanuele Repetti: MONTAMIATA, MONTE AMIATA.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Ippolito Corridori, Arturo Santioli: L'Amiata.
  3. ↑ Website of the Unione dei Comuni Montani Amiata Grossetana accessed on May 7, 2013 (ital.)
  4. ↑ Website of the Unione dei Comuni Amiata Val d'Orcia , accessed on May 7, 2013 (ital.)
  5. ↑ a b c TCI: Toscana
  6. ^ I minatori dell'Amiata. in: Luciano Bianciardi , Carlo Cassola : I minatori della Maremma , ExCogita Editore, Milan 2004, ISBN 978-88-87762-24-2 (reprint, work dates from 1956)