POGGIO SANTA CECILIA

While spending your holyday going around Siena province, it is possible that you came across a small village close to Rapolano Terme called “Poggio Santa Cecilia”. It’s a place worth a visit, maybe after a relaxing day at the Terme. Poggio Santa Cecilia is a ancient medieval village without any inhabitants. Even with nobody living there the old buildings are intact, you won’t see ruins.

No one lives here anymore. The village is built on top of a hill, you can see it from the highway Siena-Bettolle. To arrive there, once reached Rapolano Terme, you have to take a small dirt road called “Strada Comunale Poggio Santa Cecilia”. Once you’re there the first impression is that you are visiting a ghost town. Silence, peace and mystery is what dominates here.

The medieval town consist of a main road from where you have access by the antique medieval entrance door in the fortified walls that surround the village. This road leads to the historic church of Santa Maria in Ferrata and some others small roads. Walking through the village  you will see historic buildings made of stones, ancient market places, black smith store or carpenter store which still show the medieval insignia of their craftsmanship.

The history of this village is not so clear. Some Etruscan relics have been found here. Until 1260 it was under the power of the Conti della Berardenga. Testimonials tell us that Giuseppe Garibaldi recovers here, coming back wounded from the Aspromonte battle.

Others says that this place and especially the area around, inspired Dante in the Divine Comedy when he describe the Inferno. In fact below the village there is a place where a strange natural phenomena happens: when it rains the mud becomes hot and smelly and starts to boil because of some sulphoric minerals expelling sulphide dioxide.  Maybe this is the reason that the population of this village died very early.