Crete Senesi

The Accona Desert refers to a hilly area in the Siena province of Italy, within the municipality of Asciano [43°14'4.30"N; 11°33'37.48"E]. The term is often used to include the Biancana site of Le Fiorentine - Leonina [ 43°17'32.95”N; 11°26'54.07"E]. Despite its name, its climate is Mediterranean, with a hot, dry summer and almost 800 mm/y of rain (Csa Köppen climate classification). A real desert has never existed here. However, there have been temporarily severely eroded areas, more properly called "badlands". Two main types of badlands can be found in the area of the Crete Senesi, the Valdorcia, and the Volterra areas of Tuscany: Biancana (from Bianco, white, due to the light color of the clay and of the saline efflorescence) and calanco (local name for a type of gully or ravine). Both are linked to gully erosion processes, the former intermingled mainly with subsurface erosion and the latter with mass movements. Biancanas can also be found in Basilicata and in Calabria. The calanco landscape is common all along the Apennines and in many parts of the Alps. Both calancos and biancanas were used as grazing ground, with an almost annual burning of the vegetation to remove brush and favor herbaceous cover more palatable for sheep, goats, and cattle. Both practices were abandoned in the 1990s to favor measures to preserve biodiversity and geo forms under the EU Natura 2000 program. Conservation has almost stopped erosion in both types of badlands and vegetation now covers the majority of the area that was once bare slopes. As there is a strong interrelationship between vegetation biodiversity and erosion/deposition processes, biodiversity is also threatened and the biancana landscape is forecast to disappear entirely within 20-40 years as brush cover expands. Spots where the traditional forms can still be observed are scattered in the Crete Senesi and the Valdorcia, included within the quadrangle of vertices [43°16'10.58"N ; 11°15'59.30”E], [43°18'28.68”N; 11°39'4.92”E], [42°43'32.58”N; 11°42'22.98”E], [42°45'49.22”N; 11°58'41.90”E]. Leonina and Lucciola Bella [43° 2'4.85"N; 11°45'35.75"E] are two of the best sites for walking through the biancanas, while Chiusure - Monte Oliveto Maggiore (i.e., the ancient Accona) and Radicofani [42°55'8.14"N; 11°44'38.82"E] host the most impressive calancos.

Chiusure is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Asciano, province of Siena. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 115.Chiusure is about 39 km from Siena and 10 km from Asciano.

The Abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore is a large Benedictine monastery in the Italian region of Tuscany, 10 km south of Asciano. Its buildings, which are mostly of red brick, are conspicuous against the grey clayey and sandy soil—the Crete senesi which give this area of Tuscany its name. It is a territorial abbey whose abbot functions as the ordinary of the land within the abbey's possession, even though he is not consecrated as a bishop. It is the mother-house of the Olivetans and the monastery later took the name of Monte Oliveto Maggiore ("the greater") to distinguish it from successive foundations at Florence, San Gimignano, Naples and elsewhere.

Monterongriffoli is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, located in the comune (municipality) of Montalcino, province of Siena. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 10.

San Gimignanello is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Rapolano Terme, province of Siena. San Gimignanello is about 34 km from Siena and 8 km from Rapolano Terme.

Lucignano d'Asso is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, in the comune of Montalcino, province of Siena. Lucignano d'Asso is about 47 km from Siena and 16 km from Montalcino.

Vergelle is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, in the comune of Montalcino, province of Siena.

Montisi is an Italian village in the municipality of Montalcino, Province of Siena, Tuscany. It sits on a hill on the boundary between the Val d'Orcia and the Crete Senesi.

The Piccola Accademia di Montisi is a music academy for harpsichord students and recent graduates located in Montisi, a hill town in the Province of Siena, in Southern Tuscany. It provides masterclasses with students playing on its collection of restored historic instruments and modern copies. It also holds an annual summer festival with concerts of harpsichord music and other works from the Baroque period which feature the instrument. The academy was founded in 2006 by harpsichord-maker and collector Bruce Kennedy who had been making harpsichords based on 18th-century models since the 1980s. He remains the academy's executive director.The academy is based in the 13th-century Castello di Montisi. Its summer concerts are held in the Chiesa delle Sante Flora e Lucilla and other churches in the town. The inaugural summer festival, held from 18 to 21 July 2007, featured concerts by Gustav Leonhardt, Mahan Esfahani, and Skip Sempé and his Baroque ensemble Cappriccio Stravagante. The final event was a performance (the first in modern times) of Domenico Scarlattti's 1711 opera Tolomeo e Alessandro directed by Alan Curtis. Curtis served as the Piccola Accademia di Montisi's artistic advisor from its inception until his death in 2015. He was succeeded by Skip Sempé.

Montelifré is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, in the comune of Montalcino, province of Siena.

Serravalle is a village in Tuscany, central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Buonconvento, province of Siena. At the time of the 2001 census its population was 18.Serravalle is about 24 km from Siena and 4 km from Buonconvento.

Santi Pietro e Paolo is a Baroque-style, Roman Catholic parish church located in the center of the town of Buonconvento, region of Tuscany, Italy.