The best walks and hikes around Montieri

Elba is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest in Italy by area. Located about 10 km from the coast of Piombino, it is famous for its extraordinary geological variety, ranging from white sand beaches to the granite reliefs of Monte Capanne (1018 m). Historically known as the place of Napoleon Bonaparte's exile in 1814, the island preserves important historical testimonies, including Napoleonic villas and ancient iron mines.

Le Cornate di Gerfalco (1060-1081 m a.s.l.) represent the highest peak of the Metalliferous Hills in Tuscany, located between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. They are part of the Cornate and Fosini Nature Reserve and offer a panorama that ranges from the Tuscan Archipelago to Corsica and the Apennines.

Le Cornate di Gerfalco (1060-1081 m a.s.l.) represent the highest peak of the Metalliferous Hills in Tuscany, located between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. They are part of the Cornate and Fosini Nature Reserve and offer a panorama that ranges from the Tuscan Archipelago to Corsica and the Apennines.

The Cornate di Gerfalco (1060-1081 m above sea level) represent the highest peak of the Colline Metallifere in Tuscany, located between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena. They are part of the Cornate and Fosini Natural Reserve and offer a panorama that ranges from the Tuscan Archipelago to Corsica and the Apennines.

Beautiful view of the surrounding valley, where you can see Massa Marittima, Follonica, the coast and on clear days Elba and Corsica. To get there you have to follow a fairly clean path, not too exposed, with a fair slope, which passes through a forest until you reach the top at about 1059m.

Easy route also on mtb

the path is not marked but it is a little rough but it is worth reaching

The Buca delle Fate, a natural ravine between the rocks on the slopes of Poggio di Montieri, is a medieval tunnel opened in the Jaspers (red siliceous rock) in correspondence with a fracture with a N20° direction which would have facilitated its excavation. The tunnel has a significant slope (25°) and is very short, about 14 metres; in its terminal part there is a 2x1.5m well currently closed by debris. In the deepest part of the tunnel, in the vault of the well, modest traces of newly formed minerals were found consisting of crystalline concretions of calcite (calcium carbonate), spangolite (hydrated chlorine sulphate of copper and aluminum), nantokite (copper chloride) and brushite (hydrated calcium phosphate). At the top of the well you can observe quadrangular recesses and indentations dug into the rock which were used to anchor the support beams of the winch. Since the tunnel is very narrow (50cm on average) it has two exchange niches along its path, useful for allowing the transit of two miners. Other small rooms used to place lamps are also visible. The absence of evidence of mineralization and an external mining dump makes it implausible that this is a mining tunnel. It is reasonable to hypothesize that this work was functional to the vast underlying excavations, identified in the Santa Maria dei Castagni tunnel between the 19th and 20th centuries. and therefore used as a secondary access route to mining works or as a ventilation duct.