A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that me and my husband-to-be Giulio spent an afternoon trying to find the incredible stone chapel of Poggio Conte.

Built by Benedictine Cistercian monks-turned-hermits in the Middle Ages, this stone chapel is hidden in thick bush near Ischia di Castro, in Southern Tuscany and is supposed to be one hell of a site to behold.

But despite his vast knowledge of the Maremma, Giulio has no sense of direction and we never did find Poggio Conte or its chapel in the forest – those hermits sure do know how to hide!

We weren’t to be deterred though and decided to try again- this time with a lovely guide by the name of Guido.

And guess what? We found it…and it left me speechless!

To be honest, I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get to Poggio Conte even if I was well versed in the brush lands of country Tuscany.

In typical Italian-style there are no signs. Our guide simply parked his car on the side of the road a couple of kms from Ischia di Castro and climbed over a barbed wire fence into this idyllic meadow and off we went.

But before I get into describing how beautiful Poggio Conte is, I just want to let you know getting there is quite a hike.

Originally the path from the main road to Poggio Conte was easy to drive down, but in the last couple of years the dirt road has turned into literal sand dunes and not even a Jeep could tackle it without getting bogged… so we walked and walked and walked.

Luckily the view was to die for. We passed cows contentedly grazing on the banks of the Fiora River and our guide started getting nervous because he had some bad experiences with cows in the past- they were harmless though and happy to just watch us as we passed!

Following the river we came to some truly dense brush land, which was not the easiest thing to navigate, although our guide was dab hand at avoiding the thistle bushes I kept walking into.

From there you cross four bridges and turn left- that’s the only piece of directional advice I remember- and next thing you know you’re in a veritable paradise.

I have never been to a place that is so lush, so inviting and so wild. I thought we’d stumbled across an oasis!

The forest had given way to a waterfall that poured down the rocks into a pool beneath our feet. Our guide said the waterfall was carved out of the rock by the hermits as a place to worship.

And you could feel the eerie spirituality of the place.

Above the waterfall was the 13th century chapel, which, as you see below, is incredible. Completely carved out of stone, it stands tall and proud despite being centuries old. Its isolation is a blessing- few people are willing to brave the forest to admire it and so it remains unspoilt.

According to my guide, the chapel was initially home to Templars, who decorated it simply with pagan symbols- like the phallic symbols that can still be admired above the altar. Then the Benedictine Cistercian monks came along and added their own religious pictures, carving and painting 12 statues of the apostles to adorn the walls.

Unfortunately some dexterous so-and-so of a Swiss businessmen stole these statues and only six were recovered and are on display at Ischia di Castro’s museum.

To my surprise, there is nothing stopping you from climbing on the altar and touching the frescoes or indeed destroying the place, which is quite sad in my opinion.

But that’s the Italian way. They have so much, that they can’t possible take care of everything and nor do they want to.

I didn’t let that get to me though (In Australia we’d kill to have something as breathtaking as this in our backyard!), and we enjoyed a picnic in the small dug out cave next to the chapel- with the waterfall as our backdrop.

Reading over this post, I don’t think my description really does this place justice! I hope my pictures do, but to be honest, you really need to see Poggio Conte for yourself.

Even if you hate walking, this picturesque corner in Southern Tuscany is worth every thistle cut and bug bite… trust me.

Here are directions if you like to brave finding Poggio Conte yourself! (courtesy of Colline Oggi)