Ghino di Tacco tour: along the roads of the gentleman bandit

Radicofani can be seen from afar, a sentinel on the Via Francigena that has observed the Val d'Orcia and Mount Amiata for centuries. Its fortress, for a long time an observation point between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Papal States, is one of Tuscany's most majestic and spectacular fortresses.

Bandits and thugs of all kinds thrived in these borderlands: Radicofani had its own bandit in the guise of its lord, the famous Ghino di Tacco, the gentleman bandit, whose fame was such that he was mentioned by Dante Alighieri in the Divine Comedy. His hunting ground was the Via Francigena: it is said that wayfarers who came across him, if rich, were stripped of all their possessions minus necessities and, if poor, were let go without a fight.

The itinerary that carries the name of Ghino di Tacco makes a loop around the clay formations that characterize the landscape around Radicofani, and can be covered in one day or divided into two stages.

We begin the tour leaving from Radicofani and, in particular, from the gateway to the city, near the tourist office, and proceed downhill for some 18 kilometers, skirting Mount Calcinaio on one side and the Crete dell’Orcia Nature Reserve on the other side. Downstream we encounter the Orcia river, which flows silently.

At the junction for Contignano we walk up the slope leading to the village, which is probably of Etruscan-Roman origin. The village, which retains its typical medieval layout, is located along the route of the Via Francigena and was fought over in antiquity by various lordships. 

We resume the itinerary immersed in a landscape of lunar beauty, sweeping through deep gullies and biancane (cupola-shaped geological formations). In the background the peak of Mount Amiata accompanies us in all its majesty. 

After getting onto the main road we climb again, and the sight of the Radicofani Fortress comes right on time to mark the nearby destination. Radicofani stands again with its 792-meter-high, romantic-esoteric Bosco Isabella garden, the Romanesque church of San Pietro, and the Palazzo Pretorio.