The best walks and hikes in Riserva Naturale Cornate E Fosini

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.

Gerfalco is an ancient medieval village located at 774 meters above sea level in the municipality of Montieri, in the province of Grosseto. Often described as a "small nativity scene", it is immersed in the Colline Metallifere and is known for its mining history and proximity to the Cornate and Fosini Natural Reserve. The name of the village probably derives from the medieval German ger-Falke, meaning "falcon bearer", suggesting origins linked to nobles of Germanic lineage. It was an important mining center, contested between the bishops of Volterra and powerful families such as the Pannocchieschi and Aldobrandeschi. The village retains the structure of a castle and is characterized by the use of red ammonitic limestone, a pinkish stone also used in the construction of the Siena Cathedral.

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.

In the Cornate di Gerfalco area, the highest mountain in the Colline Metallifere, stand two small villages, once mining castles and today a destination for summer camps for children from Siena. Around them lay mines of silver, iron, lead, and copper, cultivated since the Etruscan era but especially between the 9th and 13th centuries, when the area was acquired by the Republic of Siena and became one of the most important "silver mines" in Italy and Europe, until its closure in the 15th century, with a partial reactivation in the 18th-19th centuries under the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and then in the early years of the 20th century with the construction of new galleries with negative results and the recovery of material from landfills: pyrite (sulfuric acid) and smithsonite (zinc).

At the foot of the Cornate mountains, like a miniature nativity scene, lies the charming village of Gerfalco, a perfect subject for photography and painting enthusiasts. Also a hub of mining exploration and controlled during the Middle Ages by the noble Pannochieschi family, it owes its name to the words ger-Falke, from the Medieval German, meaning "hawk-bearer." The road that encircles the village's perimeter suddenly seems lost in time. The church of San Biagio, consecrated in 1323, watches over the village. It was built with an adjoining convent, now a parish house and summer youth center.

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.