Hermitage of Santa Maria alla Sambuca

Ancient Hermitage, whose oldest nucleus dates back to 1100 (small church of Santa Maria di Parrana, with a few cells, Augustinian Fathers of S. Jacopo in Acquaviva), located in the valley of the Ugione torrent, in the Provincial Natural Park of the Livornesi Mountains and in the complex regional agricultural-forestry Livornesi Hills (Valle Benedetta Forest). From 1390 the hermitage took the name of Santa Maria della Sambuca and the penitential Gesuati friars settled there (until 1668, the year of dissolution of the order), with consequent expansion of the structure (church, cells, guesthouse, refectory, kitchen, barn, cellar). A state property since 1950, the Hermitage has been partly renovated with CIPE funds, but is in a state of abandonment and the other two wings (including the beautiful cloister) require urgent conservative restoration. Of great interest for the circuit of existing routes that touch other cultural emergencies such as the remains of mills on the Ugione stream (late 1600s - early 1700s), the ice houses (late 1700s) and other historical-cultural testimonies, as well as naturalistic and geological emergencies.