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Crete Senesi
The Crete Senesi refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena. It consists of a range of hills and woods among villages and includes the ''comuni'' of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d'Arbia, Rapolano Terme and San Giovanni d'Asso, all within the province of Siena. They border to the north with the Chianti Senese area, to the east with Val di Chiana and to the south-west with Val d'Orcia. Nearby is also the semi-arid area known as the Accona Desert. ''Crete Senesi'' are literally the "clays of Siena": the distinctive grey colouration of the soil gives the landscape an appearance often described as lunar. This characteristic clay, known as ''mattaione'', represents the sediments of the Pliocene sea which covered the area between 2.5 and 4.5 million years ago. The landscape is characterized by barren and gently undulating hills, solitary oaks and cypresses, isolated farms at the top of the heights, stretches of wood and ponds of rainwater (c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crete Senesi
The Crete Senesi refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena. It consists of a range of hills and woods among villages and includes the ''comuni'' of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d'Arbia, Rapolano Terme and San Giovanni d'Asso, all within the province of Siena. They border to the north with the Chianti Senese area, to the east with Val di Chiana and to the south-west with Val d'Orcia. Nearby is also the semi-arid area known as the Accona Desert. ''Crete Senesi'' are literally the "clays of Siena": the distinctive grey colouration of the soil gives the landscape an appearance often described as lunar. This characteristic clay, known as ''mattaione'', represents the sediments of the Pliocene sea which covered the area between 2.5 and 4.5 million years ago. The landscape is characterized by barren and gently undulating hills, solitary oaks and cypresses, isolated farms at the top of the heights, stretches of wood and ponds of rainwater (c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asciano
Asciano () is a ''comune'' and hill town in the province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany. It is located at the centre of the Crete senesi between the river Ombrone and the torrent Copra, some southeast of the town of Siena by rail. History Asciano has origins as Etruscan, Roman and Lombard settlements. A 5th century BC Etruscan necropolis has been excavated nearby and remains of Roman baths, with a fine mosaic pavement Debora Barbagli, ''Il mosaico di Asciano/The mosaic floor of Asciano/Das Mosaik von Asciano'', Siena, 2002 were found within the town in 1898. During the medieval period its location made it a site of contest between Siena and Florence: the battle of Montaperti was fought in the nearby on 4 September 1260. The village was purchased by the Sienese in 1285 and surrounded by walls in 1351, and has some 14th-century churches with paintings of the same period. Main sights Asciano has the 11th century Romanesque basilica of Sant'Agata which was built of trave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valdichiana
The Val di Chiana, Valdichiana, or Chiana Valley is an alluvial valley of central Italy, lying on the territories of the provinces of Arezzo and Siena in Tuscany and the provinces of Perugia and Terni in Umbria. Geography The Val di Chiana is about long, and covers about . It runs north to south between the plain of Arezzo and the plain of Orvieto and includes the watershed of the Canale Maestro della Chiana, its main watercourse, and the northern part of the watershed of the Chiana River. The river Chiana (old name Clanis) since IV sec. BC was large and suitable for boats from Arezzo to the connection with the Tevere river (60 km). After the river floating and up to the XVI sec the bottom part of the valley was cover by the water for hundreds years. There is a map drawn by Leonardo da Vinci about this lake Map RCIN 912278 Royal Collection. The beauty of the valley and the excellent farming activity was mentioned by Pliny the elder in his Naturalis Historia III, 52-54 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
White Truffles
A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, predominantly one of the many species of the genus ''Tuber''. In addition to ''Tuber'', many other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including ''Geopora'', ''Peziza'', '' Choiromyces'', ''Leucangium'', and over a hundred others. These genera belong to the class Pezizomycetes and the Pezizales order. Several truffle-like basidiomycetes are excluded from Pezizales, including ''Rhizopogon'' and ''Glomus''. Truffles are ectomycorrhizal fungi, so they are usually found in close association with tree roots. Spore dispersal is accomplished through fungivores, animals that eat fungi. These fungi have significant ecological roles in nutrient cycling and drought tolerance. Some truffle species are highly prized as food. French gastronome Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin called truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are used in Italian, French and numerous other national . Truffles are cultiv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monte Oliveto Maggiore
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 The Crete Senesi refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena. It consists of a range of hills and woods among villages and includes the ''comuni'' of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d'Arbia, Rapolano Term ...'' which give this area of Tuscany its name. It is a territorial abbey whose abbot functions as the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the land within the abbey's possession, even though he is not episcopal consecration, 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. History It was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crete Senesi Monte Oliveto
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and Corsica. Crete rests about south of the Greek mainland, and about southwest of Anatolia. Crete has an area of and a coastline of 1,046 km (650 mi). It bounds the southern border of the Aegean Sea, with the Sea of Crete (or North Cretan Sea) to the north and the Libyan Sea (or South Cretan Sea) to the south. Crete and a number of islands and islets that surround it constitute the Region of Crete ( el, Περιφέρεια Κρήτης, links=no), which is the southernmost of the 13 top-level administrative units of Greece, and the fifth most populous of Greece's regions. Its capital and largest city is Heraklion, on the north shore of the island. , the region had a population of 636,504. The Dodecanese are located to the no ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Badlands
Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded."Badlands" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 47. They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation, lack of a substantial regolith, and high drainage density.A.J. Parsons and A.D. Abrahams, Editors (2009) ''Geomorphology of Desert Environments'' (2nd ed.) Springer Science & Business Media Ravines, gullies, buttes, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. Badlands are found on every continent except Antarctica, being most common where there are unconsolidated sediments. They are often difficult to navigate by foot, and are unsuitable for agriculture. Most are a result of natural processes, but destruction of vegetation by overgrazing or pollution can produce anthropogenic badlands. Badlands topography Badlands are characterized by a distinctive badlands topography. This is terrain in which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58See the 2014 version of the ICS geologic time scale million years ago. It is the second and most recent epoch of the Neogene Period in the . The Pliocene follows the Epoch and is followed by the Epoch. Prior to the 2009 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay particles, but become hard, brittle and non–plastic upon drying or firing. Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impurities, such as a reddish or brownish colour from small amounts of iron oxide. Clay is the oldest known ceramic material. Prehistoric humans discovered the useful properties of clay and used it for making pottery. Some of the earliest pottery shards have been dated to around 14,000 BC, and clay tablets were the first known writing medium. Clay is used in many modern industrial processes, such as paper making, cement production, and chemical filtering. Between one-half and two-thirds of the world's population live or work in buildings made with clay, often ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Accona Desert
Accona desert refers to a hilly area in the Siena province of Italy, within the municipality of Asciano 3°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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Val D'Orcia
The Val d'Orcia or Valdorcia () is a region of Tuscany, central Italy, which extends from the hills south of Siena to Monte Amiata. Its gentle, cultivated hills are occasionally broken by gullies and by picturesque towns and villages such as Pienza (rebuilt as an "ideal town" in the 15th century under the patronage of Pope Pius II), Radicofani (home to the notorious brigand-hero Ghino di Tacco) and Montalcino (the Brunello di Montalcino is counted among the most prestigious of Italian wines). Its landscape has been depicted in works of art from Renaissance painting to modern photography. World Heritage The Val d'Orcia was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2004. Orcia DOC Within the Val d'Orcia is a strip of land following the Orcia river between the DOCG zones of Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. Here Sangiovese and Trebbiano-based wines are produced under the Orcia ''Denominazione di origine controllata'' (DOC) status. The DOC re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chianti (region)
Chianti (), in Italy also referred to as Monti del Chianti ("Chianti Mountains") or Colline del Chianti ("Chianti Hills"), is a mountainous area of Tuscany in the provinces of Florence, Siena and Arezzo, composed mainly of hills and mountains. It is known for the wine produced in and named for the region, Chianti. History The territory of Chianti was initially limited, in the thirteenth century, by the municipalities of Gaiole in Chianti, Radda in Chianti and Castellina in Chianti and thus defined the "Chianti League" (Lega di Chianti). Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, even decided in 1716 to issue an edict in which he officially recognized the boundaries of the Chianti district, which was the first legal document in the world to define a wine production area. The villages of Chianti are often characterized by Romanesque churches and fortified medieval castles, signs of the ancient wars between Siena and Florence or as Monteriggioni, a fortified village north of S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
