The villages of Amiata: Arcidosso Arcidosso is located between the provinces of Grosseto and Siena and its name is mentioned for the first time in a document dated 4 March 1860. The etymology of the name probably derives from the Latin substantives arx and dossum which means fortress and hump. The characteristic village of Amiata, starting from the 12th century, underwent the dominion of the Aldobrandeschi, a noble family of the county of Santa Fiora, who fortified it and built the castle that bears their name. In 1331 the leader Guidoriccio da Fogliano, at the head of the Sienese army, besieged the town, which was eventually annexed to the territories of the Republic of Siena whose dominion lasted until 1559. Arcidosso subsequently passed to the Medici of Florence who appointed a captain of justice. The village also obtained the recognition of the administrative “capital” of Amiata and received the visits of the Grand Dukes Cosimo II in 1612 and Leopoldo II in 1842. In the period of subjection to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Arcidosso boasted the demographic primacy reaching a population of about 12,000 inhabitants, quadruple the provincial capital Grosseto and in the same years following the constitution of the Italian state the city also became the seat of the Magistrate’s Court. Arcidosso is a place of faith known primarily for the Giurisdavidico movement founded by David Lazzaretti known as the “Prophet of Amiata” and for his presence in his campaigns in the Tibetan community Merigar West. The beauties of Arcidosso Dominating the historic center of Arcidosso is the Aldobrandesco castle built around the year 860 by the count family whose name it bears. In the doorposts of the fortress and on the walls there are some graffiti that according to some whisper stories of Templars. The Aldobrandesca fortress is also the seat of the Davide Lazzaretti Study Center, in which, through documents and representations of the face of the “Prophet of Amiata”, the mystery comes to life again and proposes itself to future generations. Another symbolic place of Arcidosso is the MACO: the museum of oriental art and culture. Reaching it is very simple just leave the fortress and enter the chancellery of the eighteenth-century palace in front of the fortress and in a moment you are catapulted into the Jokhang temple in Lhasa. MACO is the result of over 35 years of collaboration between the municipality of Arcidosso and the Dzogchen Community Cultural Association of Merigar. The project was born from the desire of both institutions to give light and find a home for the rich collection of over 5,000 oriental art objects and ethnographic artifacts from the Namkhai Collection.