Location: From Carmignano take the Vergheretana drive and follow the road until you reach S. Giusto. Near the restaurant “Il Pinone” park and walk the path that leads to the ruins of Pietramarina.
Walking time: 30 minutes. Easy route.
Timetable: The excavations are visible from May to November.
Possible educationl visits: information and reservations at the Archaeological Museum of Artimino – 055 8718124
Located on the hills of Montalbano, the area evidently shows the signs of a history which goes through diverse eras. Thanks to its particular position, the Mount offers a wide panorama, embracing the plain signed by the Arno’s valley, the Appennini, the Pratomagno, the Mounts of Chianti. During best days, from the so-called “Devil’s stone”, it is possible to see the coast of Livorno and The Tirreno sea: probably its denomination “Pietramarina” originates from here. The union between panoramic, naturalistic, evident values reaches its peak on top of the mount: here, inside a secular wood of holm oaks with particular hollies, we can find important archaeological findings related to an Etruscan fort settlement, and artefacts of the Medici’s period. The area was indeed part of the Barco Reale, game reserve owned by the Medici, enclosed by a wall longer than 50 meters, extended from the crest of Montalbano up to the plain, interrupted by gates only in correspondence with communication routes and streams. Historical example of a game reserve, the Barco houses a huge variety of game and was subject to particular rules, even to guard against poaching: to this extend, the Barco was guarded by a big number of watchers. There is another important testimony of the Medieval period at the feet of the hill of Pietramarina: The St. Giusto Abbey, a solid proof of the Romanesque Cluniac style.
The area has registered the presence of a variety of protected amphibious species, such as the Salamandrina terdigitata, thanks to an environmental mosaic of a great value, with traditional cultivated fields, open areas, wooded areas, system of hedges, lines and dry stone walls.
There is also an Etruscan archaeological site still under excavation in the area of Pietramarina.
