Siena might be considered a bull’s eye where wedges of Tuscany come to meet. From the Torre del Mangia in Piazza del Campo that rises above Siena’s rooftops, you may take in a 360° view over the province, with its rolling woodlands, cultivated fields and tiny towns.
Siena’s countryside is the ideal place for making outdoor activities and is among the principal destination chosen by bikers.
The countryside around Siena is made up of a number of distinct areas, each with a precise personality, that bikers admire in all their splendor.
Starting from the North and moving clockwise, we first encounter the suave Val d’Elsa area dominated by the awe-inspiring towers in San Gimignano and the musterious shadow of nearby Volterra.
The road that leads from Poggibonsi to Castellina gradually opens onto the silent ambience of the Chianti’s vineyards, villas and castles where human presence is discrete and the roads are free of automobile noise.
Numerous tourists decide to stay in singular holidays villas in Tuscany to enter in contact with nature, spending a relaxing vacation.
To the south, the landscape reaches sublime harmony in the Val d’Orcia‘s pure spaces, a unique example of a natural, artistic and cultural park where eyes can discover the perfection of form.
Montepulciano marks the passage to the Val di Chiana where you sense the mystery of the Etruscan heritage. Near Chiusi and its lake you find the favourite road by cycle tourists with passion for archeology.
Straight to the South of Siena rises Monte Amiata, a dormant volcano covered with chestnut and beech trees, that lies partly in the province of Grosseto.
Here the area is genuine but with a powerful personality given by its volcano and its forests. At the foot of Monte Amiata meet the Ombrone and Orcia rivers and you begin to sense the atmosphere of the Msaremma area, marked by an untamed nature.
Here the Farma and Merse rivers lead into the most remote and least explored area of Siena’s hinterland. This is the ideal place where travellers can test their instincts and make surprising discoveries.
Bikers pedal along hills crests and wide-open valleys overlooking a land modelled by the wind, the rain and the efforts of man.
Image Flickr Creative Commons license courtesy by aldoaldoz