Merse (river)
The Merse near San Galgano
The Merse is a 70 km long river in the Tuscany region of Italy, which crosses the provinces of Siena and Grosseto from north to south and ends at Pian di Rocca (part of Monticiano) as a right tributary to the Ombrone.
Course
The river rises in the hills of Poggio Croce di Prata and Poggio di Montieri south of Montieri in the hills Metalliferous Hills at an altitude of 848 m and initially flows northeast toward Chiusdino. He passes through the south-west to Chiusdino district Ciciano, then the southeastern district of Nido. Then it flows to the Abbey San Galgano, which he served in the Middle Ages as the main source of water, passing to the north where added joins after a few kilometers of the river FECCIA as a left tributary of the Bivio del Madonnino. From there, the river leads first few kilometers to the east, then north, where it flows around the districts of Sovicille, Brenna and Orgia. Here the river turns south, where he happened to San Lorenzo a Merse, a district of Monticiano and the Strada Statale 223 di Paganico underflows. A few meters after it passes the 1368 built and 1827 significantly enlarged bridge Ponte a Macereto (also called Ponte a Maciareto ), which is to be regarded only as a bridge ruins today. Behind the village of Bagni di Petriolo he meets on his right tributary Farma. A few kilometers further, it flows in the district of Pian di Rocca in the Ombrone whose right tributary he is.
Val di Merse
The Val di Merse (Val di Merse ) located in the southeast of the province of Siena and includes the municipalities Chiusdino, Monticiano, Murlo and Sovicille who have joined together to Comunità montana Val di Merse.
Nature parks
On Merse are the Riserva Naturale Alto Merse Nature Park and Riserva naturale Basso Merse, both of which originated in 1996. The former comprises about 2000 acres, the latter about 1743, both of which lie on the territory of the province of Siena, the Natural Park Basso Merse also in the province of Grosseto.
Pictures
Bridge ruins Ponte a Macereto at San Lorenzo a Merse
Bridge ruins Ponte a Macereto at San Lorenzo a Merse