Santa Fiora is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Grosseto completely ...

, in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region of

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

, located about southeast of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

and about east of

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

. Santa Fiora borders the following municipalities: Abbadia San Salvatore, Arcidosso, Castel del Piano,

Castell'Azzara Castell'Azzara is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italy, Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about east of Grosseto. It occupies the slopes of the Monte Amiata and was once important for ...

, Piancastagnaio, Roccalbegna, and

Semproniano Semproniano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany, about south of Florence and about east of Grosseto. Semproniano borders the following municipalities: Castell'Azzara, Manciano, Roccalbe ...

. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

Santa Fiora is mentioned for the first time in 890 AD, in a document listing properties of the Abbey of San Salvatore, Sforza Cesarini Archive Rome. By the eleventh century the lords of Santa Fiore were the

Aldobrandeschi The Aldobrandeschi family was an Italian noble family from southern Tuscany. Overview Of probable Lombard origin, they appear in history as counts in the 9th century. The first known count was Hildebrand II (857). Their possession extended t ...

who, in 1082, started the construction of a castle here (''Castello S. Flore'') and walled the ''borgo''. The power of the abbey passed by degrees to the Aldobrandeschi ''conti di San Fire'', and in turn to the hegemony in Lower Tuscany of the commune of

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, which had a strong influence on Santa Fiora by the mid fourteenth century, a future already foreseen by

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

: ''"e vedrai Santafior com' è oscura"'' - ''"and you shall see how obscure is Santa Fiore"'' ('' Purgatorio'', canto VI, 111). In 1439, with the marriage of Cecilia Aldobrandeschi and Bosio

Sforza The House of Sforza () was a ruling family of Renaissance Italy, based in Milan. Sforza rule began with the family's acquisition of the Duchy of Milan following the extinction of the Visconti of Milan, Visconti family in the mid-15th century and ...

, the castello and its town passed to the Sforza. The Sforza of Santa Fiora reached their highest point of power with count Guido Sforza di Santa Fiora, who managed to establish himself as a relative of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

Farnese, thereby gaining prestigious political positions for his relatives. Later the family became the Sforza Cesarini, who are still well represented and living in their Roman Palazzo Sforza Cesarini. The sovereign rights of the small state of Santa Fiora were sold to the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...

under Leopold II though all feudal rights remained to the family. The comune was of importance for its mineral wealth in Monte Amiata of

cinnabar Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...

, from which mercury is derived. In the Middle Ages and during the modern era Santa Fiora was the capital of an independent state, the

County of Santa Fiora The County of Santa Fiora (), also known as State of Santa Fiora () was a small historical state of southern Tuscany, in central Italy. Together with the county of Sovana, it was one of the two subdivisions into which the possessions of the Aldobr ...

''Frazioni''

The municipality is formed by the municipal seat of Santa Fiora and the villages (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') of Bagnolo, Bagnore, Marroneto and

Selva Selva may refer to: People *Selva (surname) *Selva (name) *Selva (actor), Indian actor *Selva (director), Indian director Places *Selva (comarca), a coastal comarca (county) in Catalonia, Spain *Selva, Mallorca (pop. 3,055), a municipality on Mal ...

Main sights

Churches

Pieve In Italy in the Middle Ages, a ''pieve'' (, ; ; : ''pievi'') was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended. ''Pieve'' is also an Italian and Corsican term signifying the medieval ecclesiastical/a ...

of ''Sante Flora e Lucilla'' * Church of ''San Giuseppe'' * Church of ''Suffragio'' * Church of ''Sant'Agostino'' * Church of ''Santa Chiara'' * Church of ''Madonna delle Nevi'' * Church of ''San Rocco'', midway between Santa Fiora and the village of Marroneto * Church of ''Santissimo Nome di Maria'' in the village of Bagnolo * Church of ''Nostra Signora del Sacro Cuore'' in the village of Bagnore * Convent of ''Santissima Trinità'' between Santa Fiora and the village of

Palazzi

* ''Palazzo Sforza Cesarini'', built in 1575 over the

castle (of which two medieval towers still can be seen). * ''Palazzo Pretorio'' * ''Palazzo Luciani''

Others

* Museum of mercury mines of Monte Amiata * ''Peschiera'' of Santa Fiora

Notable people

Candido Amantini Candido Amantini, CP, (January 31, 1914 – September 22, 1992), was an Italian Passionist priest. For 36 years Amantini was the exorcist of the Diocese of Rome, stationed at the Scala Sancta, Pontifical Sanctuary of the Holy Stairs. He also ta ...

, Catholic priest and exorcist * Ernesto Balducci, Roman Catholic priest and peace activist * Laura Morante, actress * Mario Pratesi, writer * Valerio Valeri, Roman Catholic cardinal

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Borghi più belli d'Italia