Abbadia San Salvatore: 5 things to do in this mountain village

Let’s start with the magnificent Abbey of San Salvatore, which gives the town its name: according to legend, it was founded way back in 750 by the Lombard king Ratchis, in the place where, it is said, he would have seen the Trinity appear to him above a silver fir. It is an undoubtedly fascinating story, which is still told to us today by Francesco Nasini's seventeenth-century frescoes, depicting The Legend of Duke Ratchis.

You will be amazed again by the crypt, with thirty-two columns all different from each other: dating back to the 7th century, it is definitely worth a visit.

A curiosity: for almost a thousand years, the abbey has housed the Codex Amiatinus, or Bibbia Amiatina, the world’s oldest manuscript copy in latin of the Bible.

We continue with a walk around the old village centre, which developed around the abbey, with narrow streets and stone houses, with doorways still decorated with medieval symbols and doors that afford breathtaking views of the Val d'Orcia. For Christmas Fiaccole are lit here: large wooden torches that burn during the night of Christmas Eve, around which residents gather to drink and sing together. The tradition is perhaps a pagan one, which is believed to date back to before the year 1000. 

Easter has its traditions too: on Good Friday along the streets of Abbadia the Giudeata takes place. The passion procession of Christ on the cross in which local people dress up as Roman soldiers on horseback as well as figures in the Passion. Children hold illuminated paper balls in their hands, lights that also hang in village windows.

From the 19th century onwards, the identity of the town became strongly linked to the cinnabar mines: in fact, mercury was obtained from this mineral very present on Monte Amiata, a resource that made Abbadia a relevant industrial center until the 1970s. The Mining Park Museum traces these historical events that profoundly marked the community, displaying tools and objects from the period. After the visit, you can get on the miners' wagon and walk the 250 meters of tunnel, where some mine settings are reconstructed: it is a way to get to know the most significant moments of this job and the hard life of the miners.

No matter what season you decide to visit Abbadia, you have to go up to the top of Monte Amiata, the great mother mountain. Spring and summer are perfect times to enjoy some hiking or to go for a bicycle excursion. In autumn, you can admire the shimmering colors of the leaves, and in winter, you can snow-shoe up to the top, where you can look out over an unforgettable panoramic view.

We’ll wrap up our tour with a stop to taste a delicious dessert exclusive to Abbadia: Ricciolina! This is a shortcrust treat stuffed with chocolate cream, hazelnuts and meringue and it’s the ideal way to get back a burst of energy after a long day on the snow or out in the woods. A perfect end to a lunch packed with local specialties—you must try mushroom and chestnut soup, cold cuts of cinta, a type of Senese pig, and pici.