{"id":8128,"date":"2023-05-30T10:55:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-30T09:55:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.valdorciamiata.it\/castellazzara-cosa-vedere\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T21:34:54","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T20:34:54","slug":"castellazzara-things-to-do","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.valdorciamiata.it\/en\/castellazzara-things-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Castell\u2019azzara, things to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The town born from a \u201cZara\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cQuando si parte il gioco de la Zara colui che perde si\u0300 riman dolente repetendo le volte, e tristo impara\u201d<\/em> (when’er is broken up the game of Zara, he who has lost remains behind despondent, he throws repeating, and in sadness learns.)
\nThese are words contained in the opening triplet of canto VI of Dante’s Purgatorio<\/strong> of the Divina Commedia<\/strong> which seem to refer precisely to the village of Castell’azzara<\/strong>. The so-called Zara is a gambling game based on the roll of dice. It is said that three brothers of the Aldobrandesca house, while they were walking in their possessions on Mount Amiata, realized the strategic importance of the area where the village would later be built, and decided to compete in “zara” to establish who should build the castle in that zone.
\nIt was Bonifacio degli Aldobrandeschi who won the challenge and had the fortress built. In fact, in the castle\u2019s coat of arms there are three towers. Each of them has a dice with a number on it. The highest, with the number 5, should represent precisely the one that allowed Bonifacio to win the game of “zara”.<\/p>\n

The area of Mount Civitella<\/strong>, Mount Penna<\/strong> and that surrounding the village of Castel’Azzara has always had a certain importance over the centuries. The Umbrian possessions alternated between the Etruscans, the Aldobrandeschi, the Sforza family, Siena, and the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.<\/p>\n

The village, the churches, the fortress<\/h2>\n

The small village has a unique charm because it is surrounded by nature and, moreover, has very characteristic streets. The country\u2019s strengths are certainly the fortress<\/strong>, built by the Aldobrandeschi, the Palazzo del Capitano, the Chiesa della Maest\u00e0, the Villa Sforzesca (country villa with coats of arms and frescoes) and the Rocca Silvana<\/strong> where it is possible to admire the wooded panorama towards the centre town of Selvena.
\nIn the small village of Castell\u2019Azzara there are two very particular \u201cstreets\u201d: Via Francigena<\/a> and Via del Tartufo. It has been defined as the capital of the Maremma truffle and it is possible to find both the white (more delicious) and black versions.
\nCastell’Azzara has had strategic importance even in very recent times thanks to the cinnabar mines that were very active in the 1900s. Since the mines were closed, the village has seen its population decrease (as in the other towns of Amiata) and has become increasingly isolated. The villagers, for this reason, were defined as “bears”. However, Castell’Azzara has been able to go beyond these limits thanks to the beauty of the nature that surrounds it and the particularity of the historical architecture.<\/p>\n

The nature, the Grotta di Sassocolato<\/h2>\n

Nature is the crucial hub of the small village and in fact there are many paths that lead directly to Mount Penna and some breathtaking panoramic points. A unique place that you should visit is exactly the \u201cGrotta del Sassocolato<\/strong>\u201d where there is an incredible amount of stalactites and stalagmites, even if it is only possible to see it during the summer with the speleological group “L’Orso”. The cave has become the home of 2,000 bats and, also for this reason, it is protected as a natural habitat to be maintained.<\/p>\n

Events and celebrations<\/h2>\n

Events also have their importance in animating the small village throughout the year.
\nMost of them, as in the other Amiata towns, take place in the summer period. The most renowned in the hot season is the “Summer Truffle Festival<\/strong>“. The other particular event is \u201cZucche in festa<\/strong>\u201d. On the surface it might look a lot like Halloween but, in reality, it was already carried out by farmers many years ago. In fact, “dry deaths” were celebrated by placing candles inside empty pumpkins as objects bringing new life. This was their last function before being used as animal food.
\nStarting from the “zara”, passing through the cinnabar mines, and arriving up to today’s trekking, Castell’Azzara has been able to adapt to the various vicissitudes, changes in time, defeats and has managed to rise again by always emphasizing something unique that was hidden in its territory. The best things happen when you take care of the area you live in and try to bring out its soul and vitality.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The town born from a \u201cZara\u201d \u201cQuando si parte il gioco de la Zara colui che perde si\u0300 riman dolente repetendo le volte, e tristo impara\u201d (when’er is broken up the game of Zara, he who has lost remains behind despondent, he throws repeating, and in sadness learns.) These are words contained in the opening…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7557,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-8128","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","description-off"],"yoast_head":"\nCastell\u2019azzara, things to do | www.valdorciamiata.it<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Castell'azzara what to see in the city of truffles, known for its Aldobrandesca fortress, the nature trails of Mount Penna.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.valdorciamiata.it\/en\/castellazzara-things-to-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Castell\u2019azzara, things to do | www.valdorciamiata.it\" 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