The Barco Reale sluice

The Barco Reale Mediceo was an ancient hunting reserve of the Medici family, built in the 17th century. This wall enclosure, which included the entire ridge of Montalbano, was intended to contain the hunting game for the Grand Dukes. The Sluice of S.Amato is the most important symbol of this forgotten work. It was a real sluice that let the waters of the stream pass and held the animals thanks to a metal grid. Many of these works must have been present along the entire perimeter of the enclosure, given the presence of many streams that descend from Montalbano. The one of S. Amato is perhaps the last one still so visible.