Maremma
Overlooking the Tyrrhenean Sea - which was awarded the highest number of Blue Flags by the European Union for the quality of water and hospitality standards - Maremma's
geographical casket is packed with art and nature.
It was the cradle of ancient Etruscans. The Romans enabled visitors to travel through it by building the road Via Cassia. In the Middle Ages the merchant class enriched it with
sumptuous municipal palaces and square-stages that turned rural towns into cities: Palazzo dei Priori in Bolgheri is the most ancient public residence in Tuscany. Even the clergy
enhanced the area with spectacular bishop's palaces (i.e. Palazzo Piccolomini in Pienza).
Through the ages man has embellished and cultivated this area, living in it with respect and, merging urban innovation with the traditional binomial art and nature.
Dante defined the Maremma between Cecina (Tuscany) and Corneto (Lazio). To date its borders are hard to distinguish, but it is understood that northern Maremma comprises the province
of Leghorn (turned into a model of the ideal city by the Medici in 1500), the hilly regions in the province of Pisa, Val di Cecina and Val di Cornia, which are partly metalliferous -
they are rich in iron, that was already used and exported by the Etruscans.
The most important Maremman resorts worth visiting are: Cecina, Bolgheri, Castagneto Carducci, Campiglia Marittima, Suvereto, Populonia and Piombino. These enchanting medieval centres
treasure a wealth of ancient secrets and wonders.