A stroll around Sovicille shows a whole hilltop village of stone building from centuries ago. Amazing structures that were built to last.

This fortress, mentioned for the first time in the mid-thirteenth century, and long time in possession of the Sienese powerful Saracini family, was so secluded even for the rough men of the past, used to walking, which received the current nickname "Castiglion che Dio sol sa" (which means "Castiglione that only God knows where it is"). The fortress is well restored, but it is very often closed, so that the interior (however, empty of furnishings) can not be visited, only you can peek inside the courtyard through the gate. But this doesn't mean that the fortress isn't a worthy destination for a visit, because what counts is also (or even more...) the path to reach it: a lonely track that goes up the Merse river valley, then climbs up to the fortress. The fortress is inserted in a web of pedestrian paths, fairly reported by the white and red marks of the Italian Alpine Club. Many different routes are possible; we have chosen to follow a ring path of about 9 Kms, that leaves and arrives from / to the small Brenna village. We followed the #400 trail towards the fortress and the #405 one on the way back (however, the path numbers are rarely reported, and only when there's a risk of misunderstanding; most frequently there are only white and red signals). The #400 trail starts from Brenna, at the opposite end of the road which accesses the village. Beyond the landscape values, this part of trail allows you to observe different examples of medieval hydraulic archeology: the duct that diverts water from Merse river to feed the mills on its left, the artifices to capture water towards the duct, some interesting remains of mills themselves. Some signboards with well done sketches and explanations (the latter, however, only in Italian) help the understanding of the remains. Following the path beyond the fortress you enter the #405 trail, which returns towards Brenna, but high over the valley, up to descend and rejoin the outward trail. However, dense trees only rarely allow you to observe the valley below. Overall, this is a very recommendable route in any season, as long as the weather is not rainy (eg, we walked it in January). On the outward trail, in the hottest season, you can bathe in the clean river water.