ANSEDONIA
According to various literatures the “Spacco della Regina” (the fissure of the queen) in Ansedonia, fissure on a rock dedicated to the legendary queen Ansedonia who fell headlong into a pit, was a meeting-place for cabbalistic and orgies of witches and devils.
The Tower of Old San Pancrazio, or of San Biagio, was erected from the Spaniards as defence for the port of Tagliata.
A little more southwards there is the Tower of Tagliata (XVI century), which was made to create a play of streams to prevent the port from sanding up, by using waters coming from Burano Lake through a canal. That tower was also the residence of Giacomo Puccini, who (together with his friends Collacchioni and D’Annunzio) was deep in the music and affairs.

MONTE ARGENTARIO Monte Argentario is an island anchored to the mainland by two hawsers: the tombolos of Feniglia and Giannella, which bound it definitively only in the last stages of prehistory.
The most ancient town is Porto Ercole but the chief town is Porto Santo Stefano. In 1610 on the seaside of Feniglia desperate and lonely died Caravaggio.
The fortresses of Porto Ercole lengthen their buttresses on the hills as a predator firmly holding its prey. In the Renaissance symbology their position and their shape represent the power and the war, so that one of them has the name of Philip II, the great successor of Charles V. Forte Stella was the last to be built, its six vertexes are precisely turned to those sectors, which had to be defended.
If for the plan we mention the names of architect Camerini and general Vitelli, we also admire the shape and the absolute masterpiece of the coherence between the nature and the pieces of work.

THE BURANO LAKE
The preserve was founded in 1980 and is run by the WWF; it is also recognised as a Zone of International Importance according to the Ramsar’s Agreement. It has a surface of 410 hectares between Ansedonia and Chiarone, 140 of which are filled by the lake. This is a very rich area for what concerns flora and fauna: on the beach there are sea-lily, sea bindweed, Phoenician juniper, heather and juniper. The wood is made of Holm-oak, cork-oak, maple and bay oak. The fauna is made up of wild gooses, sea-gulls, bulls-of-the-bog, herons, nightingales, sedge-warblers, reed sparrows, ducks and pochards. Among the raptors there are ducks-hawks and fish hawks. The bush is populated by sylvan birds such as blackcaps, redbreasts and turtle-doves. By the sea are frequent meetings with some Nordic species and on the meadows one can see lapwings and plovers, a lot of deer and in the wood and among the sandy glades live porcupines, badgers, wild rabbits, polecats and hedgehogs. Among the reptiles there are tortoises, turtles, adders, grass snakes, tesculapian snakes, lizards and green lizards.

CAPALBIO
In 1416, after the conquest, Siena wanted to beguile Capalbio to be happy by laying down on its armorial bearings (a bald, cut off head, raised by the claw of an heraldic lion) five Latin hexameters, that D’Annunzio with delight translated in that way: “I am Capalbio, happy, protected from the lion of Siena and from these first walls restored at its own expenses, and from the other walls, that surround the first ones in the year 1416.”
In Capalbio to visit is the Oratory of the Providence, which includes some frescos of the Pinturicchio’s school.

GIGLIO ISLAND
The Latin writer Varrone asserted that from the islands of Tuscany archipelago came the goats which populated Italy. Many Grecian words remind us of this animal, a symbol of a primordial civilization, which tries in vain to contrast the experiences of Ulysses: goat and sea will then identify theirselves and remind the navigations towards unknown lands. The tower of Campese watched the sea against the robberies of pirates till 1700.

GIANNUTRI ISLAND
Another myth is implicit in the Greek name of Giannutri (Artemisia, the sister of Apollo), which was inspired from the shape like a half-moon of the island by the first sailors of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
This island has an undeniable fascination: it is almost bare and wild as the character of the Grecian goddess. The ruins of the roman villa dates back to the II-III century b. C.

TALAMONE
According to a legend handed down from classical literature the eponym of this town was Telamone (the son of Eaco), who landed here with the Argonauts by coming back from Colchide. The Grecian hero died here and was buried under the promontory.
An important archaeological discovery made on the Talamonaccio hill concerns some fragments of Etruscan sculpture, which dates back roughly to 150 b. C. and in which is represented the final act of the Edipo’s curse during the war of Seven years against Thebes. This subject represented for the Etruscans the end of their history.

MANCIANO
On the highest hill it appears dark because of the rock with which it was built and because of the shapes of the houses climbing up the hill towards the fifteenth-century rock. The armorial bearings are a hand, symbol of loyalty and hospitality.

REGIONAL NATURAL PARK OF MAREMMA
The Natural Park of Maremma was founded in 1975 and is run by the Region Tuscany State Park (Regione Toscana Ente Parco). It spreads throughout the southern part of the coast, from Principina a Mare till Talamone. Its territory can be divided into two parts: one is northwards from Ombrone River, with the Trappola Marshes and the other one is southwards with the hills of Uccellina. The first area is flat, puddly, with marshes, coast dunes and not much vegetation. From the beach to the dune one can see sea-lily, sea-bindweed, lentisk, oleaster and 600 hectares of pinaster.
Near the coast one can find the Mediterranean bush with its Holm-oak, arbutus, heather and juniper. In the hinterland the evergreens species are associated with deciduous species such as manna ash, turkey oak, bay oak, maple and cork oak. This place is rich in fauna with wild boar, deer, porcupine, badger, fox, hedgehog, weasel, beech-marten and coypu; among the aquatic birds there are pintail, whistle duck, mallard, teal, pochard, spoonbill duck, tufted duck and garganey. And also curlew, stilt bird, heron and harrier.

PITIGLIANO
Pitigliano gives an unforgettable scenographic impression if you watch it by the sunset and from the church of Madonna delle Grazie (dedicated as votive offering during the Black Death of 1527). It is as Orvieto, but more primitive and closer to nature thanks to the vegetation that clinks to it, and thanks to the greyish rock of the street. It is a place of shadows and not bright lights, which are cut in the corners and in the squares of roofs, castle and lilied-tower.
The building-fortress of Orsini dominates the town with its beautiful Renaissance courtyard in which a well with armorial bearings of Aldobrandeschi and Orsini is visible. Inside the building there is a museum with archaeological finds and objects of art.
In La Repubblica square there is the terminal of sixteenth-century waterworks. In Capisotto one can find a sixteenth-century church of Santa Maria and in Gregorio VII square there is the Cathedral, which keeps paintings of Cozzarelli from Siena ( XV century), of Francesco Vanni (XVI century), of Zuccarelli (XVIII century) and of Aldi (XIX century).

SATURNIA
This Pelasgian town, that Etruscan called Aurinia and Romans Saturnia, remain not so much except the tumulus-graves and graves with one small chamber covered with a monolith, which appears as a dolmen but it dates back to VII-VI century b. C. It remains also some part of the city walls of IV-III century b. C. and the Roman Gate, which together with the street and the arch represents and synthesizes the three ancient civilizations of the town: the Etruscan, the roman and the medieval ones.
More distant are other ruins such as the Baths with its great thermal construction and an interesting “castellum aquarum” by Le Murella.
On the travertine rock the houses tread the crossing of cornerstones and decumans planed by the Romans.
A villa-castle was built on the ruins of the acropolis and of the medieval fortress and it was residence of privates some years ago. The elegance and the “salus” of the thermal baths of Saturnia were famous already at the roman time.

SOVANA
The big temple-grave called Ildebranda renews the memory of Gregorio VII from Sovana.
The room below is made with great simplicity in contrast with the preciousness of the external decoration: the roof is weathered with a central girder and a counter with two holes at the back of the room to contain a wooden sarcophagus decorated with bronze studs.
Sovana didn’t have a continuous life: it was inhabited in VII, VI and IV century and its full growth coincided with the surrender of Vulci to Rome in 280 b. C. It was already Episcopal diocese in the VI century. The medieval buildings date back to Xiii-XIV century. Sovana was the capital of a county of Aldobrandeschi till 1313, when it became territory of Orsini. Then it belonged to Medici and to their successors Lorena.
The cathedral dates back to IX-XI century and it was reconstructed in 1300, while the fortress and the Church of Santa Maria date back to XIII century, with a beautiful tabernacle of the IX-X century. All around on the surrounding hills there are Etruscan graves.

THE GARDEN OF TAROTS.
In the Garden of Tarots are represented the 22 Tarots’ Major Arcane in cyclopean sculptures, 12/15 metres high, covered with ceramic mosaics, glasses and mirror.
In 1979 began the first works of this Garden: the authoress was a sculptress of word-wide renown: Niki de Saint Phalle. With this wonderful Garden the sculptress crowned a dream, which has its roots at the beginning of her activity. She decided to built this esoteric Garden as she visited the Guell Park of Gaudì in Barcelona. After 24 years began her adventure by starting the Garden at her own expenses and with the collaboration of her husband, and all the difficulties were overcame by her great will.
Nowadays the Garden is a private foundation and the proceeds are used for making other sculptures and for the daily upkeep of the Garden.
Niki de Saint Phalle works at her Garden yet (even if she lives in San Diego in the USA), by developing other ideas and by making other sculptures. Many people think that the works at the Garden of Tarots will never stop as long as she lives.

MONTEMERANO
This is a caste of Aldobrandeschi, then of Orvieto, of Siena in 1382 and of Medici at last.
Siena made it as a safe fortress surrounded by three circles of walls and in 1489 gave its laws.
The town is surrounded by olive-groves and is under banner of medieval strictness, but also of hospitality as the plate remembers: “This is the house of ensign Fausto Grassi and his friends”.