Santa Sofia
Attractive detour
Its Oratory has a fine wooden crucifix of the 12thC. Going south-west on Route 310, keep left at Isola for a short and attractive detour. (If coming north from Campigna, turn sharp right). In about 9 km you will reach Ridracoli and a hydro barrage, behind which a wonderfully sinuous, crooked lake extends south for another 6 km – almost to the watershed where the footpath comes over from Camaldoli.
At Ridracoli the Museum of Mammals in Palazzo Giovannetti contains tableaux and stuffed items of local fauna past and present. It is open only at weekends and holiday times. The company which runs the museum and, to some extent, tourism, is conscious of the environment. It has replanted trees and wild flowers along the lake shore and it offers guided walks and short courses in the wildlife and ecological field. The same company has renovated some empty houses at Ridracoli and also Corniolo (on Route 310 near Campigna) and offers them for holiday renting.
