On a trip to the Pistoia Mountains, from Marliana to Cutigliano, from Piteglio to Sambuca Pistoiese, from San Marcello to Abetone, including Pescia, Montale and Pistoia, you will discover that these towns are not only home to the best-known ski centres in Tuscany, but also boast many other beautiful sights and unmissable celebrations.

The new Ecomuseum of the Pistoiese Mountains, an innovative centre which co-ordinates all the territory's cultural and natural treasures, has a list of six outdoor trails which allow the visitor to discover a variety of fascinating and unique sights, from the summit of the Alpe Tre Potenze, nearly 6,500 feet high, to the eastern slopes of the Monte La Croce.

On the Ice Trail, for example, we discover the ingenious system used to produce natural ice in the Reno Valley between the 18th and 20th centuries, whereas the Iron Trail reveals how the Pistoia Mountains were the most important centre of iron and steel production in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the 16th century. In the parish church of Popiglio in the municipality of Piteglio, the Diocesan Museum of Religious Art has a collection of rare Baroque artefacts, and visitors to the Orsigna valley can explore the renovated Giamba Coal Museum and the old Coal Route.

The stunning Nature Trail gives the visitor the opportunity to collect a few blueberries or porcini mushrooms, which are both plentiful in this region. The Trail also takes in the Woodland Botanical Garden of the Abetone, abundant in Norway Spruce, once known as the Grand Duchy Forests of Boscolungo. Here, with a bit of luck, you might see a kestrel, a buzzard, an eagle or even a wolf.

If you happen to be in San Marcello Pistoiese on 8th September, you have the chance to attend a unique ceremony. Ever since the feast of the town's patron saint, Saint Celestina, has been celebrated on that date, it has been accompanied by the launch of a hot-air balloon, a tradition dating back to 1783, when the Montgolfier brothers, who were staying in the region, encouraged local residents to attempt the feat of flying in a balloon. It is said that if the balloon does not rise beyond the bell-tower, the year will be an unlucky one, whereas a fortunate year is in stow if the balloon is seen soaring over the tower. 

In the middle of southern Tuscany towers Mount Amiata, an extinct ancient volcano whose last eruption dates back to about 700 thousand years ago, which still arouses amazement and wonder today for its impressiveness and its magical atmosphere that remains intact in its territory, nature, and traditions that have not been erased by time.

Located between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena, this Tuscan giant watches over one of the green areas of the region formed by the Orcia Valley, the Paglia Valley and the Maremma, the Siena hills and Bolsena Lake. Its seven municipalities, Abbadia San Salvatore, Santa Fiora, Arcidosso, Castel del Piano, Seggiano, Piancastagnaio and Castell'Azzara reflect the spirit of the Amiata, a large open natural park. 

Besides being one of the most important skiing areas in Tuscany, the Amiata also has three notable spa centres at Bagni San Filippo, San Casciano e Bagno Vignoni.
At Bagni San Filippo, water flows from the earth at 52 degrees and forms incredible sulphuric waterfalls in strangely opalescent colours like the "White Wall" made snow-white by the high concentration of limestone and the famous "White Water Moat", a stream in which fresh water mixes spontaneously with the hot spring water, Interspersed with Romanesque-Lombard monasteries, Renaissance and Baroque churches and medieval buildings, the Amiata territory over the centuries has maintained a strong balance between the population and the volcano's widespread flora and fauna that is protected in many areas. 

From the Monte Labro Game Reserve where there are still some surviving examples of the Appennine Wolf, it leads to the WWF Bosco Rocconi Natural Reserve with its characteristic pit and caves, and then on up to the Mount Penna Reserve that occupies over a thousand hectares.
Here many go off on trekking excursions seeking subterranean phenomena, caverns and immense forests of beech and maple, or simply to gather mushrooms and chestnuts, two typical foods in the Amiata diet which have many festivals dedicated to them throughout the year.