(Three places off the Grosseto road, within about half an hour of Barontoli. Paganico has good frescoes; San Lorenzo is a Romanesque church of minor interest along a bad road but in a beautiful valley; and Petriolo has a sulphurous hot spring for anybody who wants a hot bath).

Paganico

Paganico is the furthest (about 35 km from San Rocco a Pilli) and is just off the Grosseto road, well sign-posted. It is a workmanlike small town or large village that used to be a defensive point on Siena's southern borders, and still has most of its 13th -14th walls. But it is generally undistinguished apart from the frescoes in its church, San Michele, which are among the best preserved and most beautiful of any small church in the Senese.

The church is in the main square, and from the outside could not be plainer. The frescoes are in the chancel, behind the altar - if the young parroco is there, he will let you walk behind the altar to see them better. They have been recently restored, revealing the name of an artist called Biagio di Goro Guezzi, dated 1368. On the left wall, on the top there is a delightful Nativity, with the Child rather unusually being washed. Below, the middle is a splendid rendering of St Michael the Archangel casting down the devil. The picture on the left shows a legend in which he appeared in Puglia in the form of a bull and some hunters tried to shoot him, only to find their arrows turning round and shooting them instead. On the right, Michael appears above Castel Sant'Angelo in Rome, delivering the city from the plague.

On the right wall, the upper scene is of the Adoration of the Magi. Below there is a Last Judgement, with the Virgin Mary giving souls a helping hand out of purgatory into heaven (the figure in green above is Wisdom); Archangel Michael in the middle; and the Devil on the other side, having collected only one soul compared to the many on the purgatory/heaven side (the parroco commented approvingly to us that this presents an optimistic picture of mankind, but the Devil is clearly furious and is baring his teeth at the Archangel Michael). There are symbolic connections between the upper and lower scenes. For instance, although Michael is holding the baskets of the scales, the actual weighing is done by Christ and the chains can be seen going up to him. On the left hand side of the top scene, above the heavenly side of the Last Judgement, there are horses' heads bowing to Jesus, whereas on the other side the horses have turned their rumps to Jesus, showing that those who accept Christ can expect heaven and those who reject him must expect hell.

To complete this wonderfully preserved series of frescoes, there is an Annunciation on either side of the window; the four evangelists in the vault and saints under the chancel arch.

There are three other good works in the church; a Madonna and Child by Guidoccio Cozzarelli over the main altar; another Madonna and Child (about 1480) by Andrea di Niccolò on the left wall; a huge and unfortunately damaged fresco of St Christopher on the right wall, and next to it, in a glass case over a side altar, an extraordinarily moving, not to say harrowing, painted wooden crucifix (15th century).

San Lorenzo al Lanzo, also known as Badia Ardenghesca

This abbey church is difficult of access and only for the enthusiasts. From Paganico, take the road to Arcidosso and Castel del Piano, and turn off to the left along a pretty country road to Civitella Marittima and Abbadia Ardenghesca. After about nine kilometers, turn left onto a very bumpy dirt road (signposted) and then after a further four kilometers right. The abbey church isabout a kilometer on, on the right, recognizable by the filled in arches which originally separated the nave from the now demolished side aisles.

From the Grosseto road (SS 223), take the exit for Civitella Marittima. Coming from Grosseto, the abbey road is signposted almost as soon as you leave the slip road. From Siena, go towards Civitella and almost immediately turn right onto the road signposted Siena that crosses onto the other side of the Grosseto superstrada, turning left before the slip road back onto the superstrada. Beware: between the Civitella exit and the abbey church, there is a ford that can be a raging torrent in time of rain.

San Lorenzo is in a most beautiful wooded valley, with cypresses and umbrella pines (a good place for a picnic, except that it is almost below one of the spectacularly high viaducts over which the Grosseto road passes and there is a slight traffic roar). The church itself is closed, but there is an interesting travertine façade with capitals carved with fantastic beasts, including a one-headed two-bodied lion similar to one of the San Antimo capitals.

For those not interested in picnics, Civitella has a good restaurant, la Locanda nel Cassero, offering an interesting modern take on traditional Tuscan fare at very reasonable prices - in 2003, about €5-6 for antipasti and pasta dishes; and €9-10 for main courses. It is right in the middle of the maze of narrow mediaeval streets of this typical hill village, and is closed on Tuesday, and also Wednesday lunchtime.

Bagni di Petriolo

In the valley below another spectacular viaduct of the Grosseto superstrada, about 15 kilometres from San Rocco and well sign-posted, there is to be found the old spa (with remains of 15th century walls) of Petriolo. All that remains today is a small (free) bathing pool where the bad-egg-smelling hot waters spill out into the river, and an establishment where one can pay to have serious treatment. The public bathing pool used to be rather a muddy affair and was overwhelmed by a landslide a few years ago; it has now been reconstituted in a much improved form. The water is really quite hot, and bathing in it is not such a good high summer experience.
2003