The Ente river, which originates from a group of springs located in a plateau called “Le Fontine”, within a radius of 100 meters, flows from a cliff with a natural difference in height of about 25 meters, giving rise to the spectacular waterfall. The Cascata d’Acqua d’Alto is immersed in a fairytale forest, a stone’s throw from the village of Bagnoli.
The waterfall, whose extraordinary beauty can still be admired, is remembered even in 1500 as a fascinating place by Pope Pius II Piccolomini. It resurfaces in the writings of Respetti and Santi and is even sung by illustrious poets such as Gian Domenico Peri.
The Ente river, which originates from a group of springs located in a plateau called “Le Fontine”, within a radius of 100 meters, flows from a cliff with a natural difference in height of about 25 meters, giving rise to the Waterfall called Cascata d’Acqua Alto. In the mid-twentieth century, following a concession to the municipality of Siena, the works to capture the springs began, with the excavation of two tunnels located below the locality of “Fontine”. The waters were conveyed to the service of the City of the Palio and the waterfall ceased to exist for a while. Subsequently, after the works that allowed a water recycling system, almost like a benevolent joke of nature, the waterfall has come back to life. Its presence, in this area of the Amiata, was also a harbinger of economic prosperity. In the mid-1900s it was calculated that the water of the Cascata d’Acqua D’Alto had an average flow rate of about 120 litres per second and that its natural power could be exploited as water energy. In the vicinity there were mills, a woollen mill and an important production site of “Terra Gialla” whose “ochres” were used as dyes and were exported all over the world. Today it continues to be a place of peace and relaxation, considered unique throughout the Amiata: a kingdom where you can cultivate inner well-being.
