THE view from the roof terrace of Giorgio Franci’s olive mill in Tuscany is sublime. It takes in the entire undulation of the Val d’Orcia. Just discernible to the east are the walls of Pienza, a UNESCO world heritage site. Scattered across the valley—a UNESCO world cultural landscape—are medieval castles, Etruscan hill villages and the vineyards that yield one of Italy’s great wines, Brunello di Montalcino.
If Mr Franci’s fears are confirmed, however, this glorious vista will soon be pockmarked with drilling rigs and, in a few years, dotted with geothermal power stations. The Val d’Orcia is the arena for an impassioned struggle in which the adversaries of conservationists are not foragers for fossil fuels but promoters of green energy.
On August 26th a six-month moratorium imposed by the Tuscan regional government expired, restarting a process leading to exploratory drilling in 31 concessions, including some in Val d’Orcia and other environmentally sensitive areas.
Tuscans have been living with geothermal energy since classical times, when they began enjoying the region’s…