Walking the routes of Rocchette di Fazio

Discover the village that's 3 km from Semproniano, deep in mysterious Tuscany where time seems to stand still

The fascinating medieval village of Rocchette di Fazio is a hamlet in the Municipality of Semproniano. Discover the small centre of the Maremma, outside of the main tourist areas. The sites here have their roots in legend as history and nature blend perfectly. The medieval buildings are in harmony with the surrounding forest and from the Rocca Aldobrandesca, you can admire the sheer cliffs and the Albegna valley. The earliest written testimony dates back to 1216, when it is mentioned for the first time as "castrum" with the name of Rocchetta. The town was an important stronghold thanks to its strategic position at the top of a rocky spur, protected in the west by the Albegna river which made it practically unassailable. It's surrounded by the Rocconi Nature Reserve characterized by rugged nature, with high rock walls and numerous caves and caverns such as the "Crepaccio Rocconi". The walls of Rocchette have seen many mysterious knights pass through. Legend has it that an armoured Templar knight and his horse are buried in the crypt of the Santa Cristina Parish Church and that his spirit is guarding the Templar treasure, buried somewhere hidden in the area.

Contents

1.

The park route
2.

The Bellafreddi route

Sentiero Bellafreddi - Credit: Comune di Semproniano

Let's discover two paths that together explore the natural beauty of Rocchette di Fazio (here you can find a pdf graphic of the routes).

The park route

Sentiero del Parco, Semproniano - Credit: Comune di Semproniano

As soon as you arrive in the square of the medieval village, on the right next to the restaurant you enter a country lane and immediately on the left we find the route markers. The route has a medium level of difficulty, a difference in altitude of 260 m and a length of about 3 km. Once entered, cross part of the historic Salt Road and walk along a dirt road until you reach the Caese which enters the Albegna river, in front of the canyon of the Rigo ditch (marked with white-red colors). The area is characterized by an extremely varied geomorphology with very high rocky limestone walls and deep gorges partially covered with holm oak. Continuing a few hundred meters, you enter the WWF Rocconi Nature Reserve Oasis where you can book excursions. The return path follows much of the outward journey, then the hiker can choose to go through the Bellafreddi route or take the Salt Road to return to the starting point. From Caese-Albegna, you go down river until you reach the entrance to Bellafreddi, forming a longer and more fascinating ring path. The park route is ideal for anyone who enjoys hiking and wants to avail of an informative resource.

View the path on the map by downloading the kml here.
To use this file, an app such as GPX Viewer (for android) Map Plus (for apple) and Google Earth (for both operating systems) must be installed on your smartphone.
On your computer you can view the kml on Google Earth and on Google MyMaps.

The Bellafreddi route

Sentiero di Bellafreddi

The historic path starts at the foot of the beautiful fortress, crosses the fountain restored by Leopoldo di Lorena in 1700, continues along the so-called Rocchettini garden up to the Albegna river, where you can admire the Sasso del Nibbio and the Pozzo Diavolo. In ancient times, the stretch continued along the Bellafreddi pass towards Roccalbegna, touching the Gaggioli and the current Rocconi Nature Reserve. The length of this medium difficulty circular route is about 2 km and the difference in height is 270 meters. In the last section, you can admire the centuries-old paving of the Salt Road, where knights and wayfarers passed, but above all the wagons loaded with salt to be transported to the Sienese. From the Diavolo well, skirting the Albegna northwards, the path joins the Park path, forming a larger ring. The path is marked with a red color.

Download the kml of the path here.