Who we are

The Parco Vivo Community Cooperative was born beacuse to enhance the naturalistic, historical and cultural aspects of the mountain village Vivo d’Orcia.

Most importantly from the Sources of the River Vivo and all the environments developed around this circuit, we want to bring closer to the knowledge of this historical culture, aiming to reach a wider public with educational tourism services.

 

Vivo d’Orcia is located on Mount Amiata and represents the highest village in the whole area, it is a typically mountain town with specific peculiarities and raw materials. At its highest point, near the Sources of Ermicciolo, flows the river Vivo, one of the main tributaries of the Orcia river which gives its name to the valley below Unesco Heritage, only a few kilometers away. The Ermicciolo sources are also an important water source for the Aqueducts of Val di Chiana and Siena. A place of great charm, Vivo d’Orcia has religious buildings dating back to the 11th Century. Upstream of the village there is a small hermitage named after San Benedetto. It belongs to the Monastero del Vivo, founded by St. Romualdo in the 11th Century and once inhabited by the Camaldolese monks, which is located further downstream. The two buildings are connected to each other by a path built along the river where it is possible to see traces of old industrial installations, such as paper and water mills, dating back to past centuries and now abandoned. READ MORE about The history of the “Water Village”

Studying these peculiarities and recreating historical settings with a great cultural content (such as the remaking of a lumberjacks hut, which served as a modest home during long periods of work away from home), visiting the sources and the historic buildings, walking in the woods up to places for visits and exhibitions, the possibility of identifying, collecting, tasting some of these products, up to the implementation of sensory and manual activities, is part of an ancient and primary knowledge, that we want to pass on and which – in our opinion – is the basis for harmonious development with Nature.

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Every Sunday at Parco Vivo

Visits and activities between Mount Amiata and the Val d’Orcia Every Sunday from 5 May to 29 September many activities suitable for adults and children. From morning to afternoon you…
calendario Parco Vivo 2024

Ermicciolo 2024 – Complete calendar of visits

Visit with us the springs of the Ermicciolo to Vivo D’Orcia: a unique experience that will give you direct contact with nature! Read all the dates of this season 2024…
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Holiday Trekking – 30 December and 5 January

Walk in Parco Vivo during the Christmas holidays – post extravagance 10am: guided tour of the Water Museum in the village of Vivo d’Orcia. Afterwards, a gentle trek up to…
calendario visite 2023

Ermicciolo 2023 – Complete calendar of visits

Visit with us the springs of the Ermicciolo to Vivo D’Orcia: a unique experience that will give you direct contact with nature! Read all the dates of this season 2023…
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Parco Vivo at Christmas

Discover Parco Vivo with us among elves and magical creatures… and enter the famous Ermicciolo spring in the heart of Monte Amiata. price per person €15, meeting at 11am duration about 1 hour…
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The Water Museum opens in Vivo d’Orcia

The Water Museum is inaugurated today, December 15, in the village of Vivo d’Orcia on behalf of Acquedotto del Fiora, in collaboration with our Cooperative Parco Vivo. The venue is…