Discover Rosia: Pieve, Hiking Trails and Geology

In the centre of Rosia stands the Romanesque Pieve di San Giovanni Battista. From this location, you can plan a stay that combines sacred art, hiking trails, bridge history, geology and archaeology. If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Rosia, you can choose your preferred pace: cultural discoveries in the town, the Sentiero 114, or a focus on traces of the landscape and its history.

Culture and Trails in Rosia

The right side altar of the Pieve features a painting by Guidoccio Cozzarelli. It depicts the enthroned Madonna and Child between Saint Sebastian and Saint Anthony the Great. The bell tower is divided into several levels, featuring openings with one, two, three and four sections.

The marked Sentiero 114 is the hiking trail from Rosia to Tonni. It begins at the Romanesque Pieve di San Giovanni Battista in the centre of Rosia and initially follows Via della Parrocchia and Via di Mezzo. This means the hiking trail is directly connected to the town centre before the route continues onwards.

Ponte della Pia and Geology

Ponte della Pia combines a historical and a practical distinction. Its present appearance probably dates from work carried out around the 13th century; at that time, it was an important crossing on the ancient Via Massetana between Siena and Massa Marittima. According to tradition, the name is associated with Pia de’ Tolomei, a Sienese noblewoman whom Dante Alighieri mentions in the fifth canto of the Purgatorio.

From Ponte della Pia, a woodland path follows the remains of an old road called „Manliana“ and leads to the Eremo di Santa Lucia. For planning your day, this route offers a different perspective from the Sentiero 114: the focus here is not the path from Rosia to Tonni, but old road remains, woodland and the Eremo.

At the geosite of the Torrente Rosia and the fracture system, below Ponte della Pia near a small waterfall, there is an educational trail. It illustrates how fractures in the rock mass can influence the course of a stream. A seven-metre-high waterfall forms within the fracture system. This makes geology tangible through water, rock and terrain.

Archaeology on the Montagnola

The Malignano Archaeological Area lies at the end of a narrow gorge cut by the Torrente Rosia between the hills of the Montagnola. There, the landscape opens onto the plain crossed by the Merse River. In the area, 18 chamber and shaft tombs belonging to a necropolis that has not yet been fully excavated were uncovered; they are carved into limestone. Here, the landform and limestone tombs therefore appear together.

Choose a Holiday Apartment in Rosia According to Your Travel Theme

When choosing your holiday apartment in Rosia, you can use these focal points as your guide. The Pieve and Sentiero 114 suit an itinerary focused on local culture and hiking; Ponte della Pia, the geosite and Malignano represent historic routes, water, rock and archaeology. Depending on your interests, this creates a different daily rhythm without requiring you to limit yourself to just one type of discovery. Rosia is therefore suitable for travel planning that places several clearly distinct themes side by side.

For further travel planning, you can also view Stigliano and Carpineto.

For the overarching travel overview: Sovicille.