Scarlino

Situated amongst a panorama of immense beauty and great environmental interest, Scarlino, small but definitely extraordinary, rises on one of the slopes of the Monte Alma, and is seen as a small jewel of art and culture.

Scarlino Castle in the Grosseto region of Tuscany acted as a stronghold against enemies and pirates landing at nearby cities.

Poggio Tondo is a hill covered by dense Mediterranean scrubland. The necropolis of Poggio Tondo, which rises up out of the valley Alma in the territory of Scarlino, is datable to between the mid-seventh and the mid-sixth century B.C and pertains to a settlement which was under the rule of Vetulonia. At present four tombs from the necropolis are visible.

Territorial Archive Centre | Via della Rocca - Scarlino (GR)
Opening hours: Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday 9.00 - 12.00Opened in 1994, the centre is set out in two areas that display the results of the archeological research carried out on the “Rock of Scarlino” between 1979 and 1983, as well as the documentation of the territory’s Etruscan and Roman Age.

At Puntone di Scarlino the modern yacht harbour, which is also the perfect starting point to visit the faunal oasis of more than 700 ha of coastal scrub-land, where are still living undisturbed roe deers, wild boars, badgers and porcupines. The Bandite di Scarlino can only be reached on foot, by bike or on horseback along well-marked trekking routes.

Inside the Follonica Gulf, in the Bandite di Scarlino reserve, which is divided by a small promontory from Punta Ala, among a multitude of small caves, you will find Cala Violina. The beach's name derives from its very rare characteristic (it appears there is only one another beach with such a peculiarity) by which, steeping on the sand, the latter will echo back the harmonious notes of a violin.
Cala Violina has been rewarded from Legambiente as one of the 11 most beautiful beaches of Italy.


Comune Scarlino

Kaart van Scarlino url

Gavorrano
The medieval center of Gavorrano rises on the side of Mount Calvo in the heart of the Grosseto Maremma with a splendid view of sea and hills.
Gavorrano was founded in the 11th century as a possession of the Bishop of Roselle. Main sights are remains of Castel di Pietra ("Stone Castle"), built by the Count Nello of Pannocchieschi. This castle passed to the legend because it was the place where Pia of Tolomei, Nello's second wife, was murdered by her husband. She died in the Castello di Pietra. The great Italian poet Dante Alighieri remembered that event in his Divine Comedy (Purgatory V: “Siena mi fè, disfecimi Maremma ” “Siena gave me life, Maremma took it away”).
The tragic story of the noble woman from Siena is re-enacted every year - usually on the first Sunday of August - in the festival called "Il Salto della Contessa", the "Countess' Leap". The re-enactment is presented in medieval costume, with parades, flag throwers, a horse race and a theatrical representation of the Countess' murder at the hand of her husband, Nello dei Pannocchieschi.

Comune

Map Gavorrano url

Parco Minerario Naturalistico Gavorrano
Gavoranno was an important mining center and the stone quarries and infrastructure for its excavation are still visible in the area. Today a part of the abandoned mining structures has been converted into a large museum complex: the Parco Minerario and Naturalistico di Gavorrano (Mining and Naturalistic Park of Gavorrano).

Itineraries (it)

Caldana is a frazione of Gavorrano. Main sights are the Church of San Biagio and the Oratorio di Sant'Antonio da Padova.
Caldana is situated on a hilltop surrounded by luxuriant olive trees, a few kilometres from Gavorrano; it has retained the features of an early medieval village.
The town is built within the formidable walls of the castle. With its quadrangular shape, it preserves its 16th-century appearance, including four-cornered bulwarks and sloping foundation, directly upon which the structures of homes lean.

Divided by three parallel streets that merge into the small centre opposite the Renaissance church of San Biagio, this ancient village safeguards a network of cellars connected to each other by underground passageways, open to the public on special occasions.

The Chiesa di San Biagio is located in the main square of Caldana, facing onto a spacious panorama. The churchis one of the few examples of a holy Renaissance building in the Maremma area. Behind the main altar, a fresco depicting St. Blaise and St. William stands out against the luminosity of the wall. It was painted by Giuseppe Nicola Nasini.
The Nasini family were painters originally from Castel del Piano who worked mainly on Mount Amiata, between the 1700s and the second half of the 1800s. They were very prolific artists and it can be said that there is no church, oratory or small chapel in this territory that does not have one of their paintings.

Campiglia Marittima, a typical medieval village, with its narrow streets and the houses all gathered around the castle, has a very ancient history.
An urban settling had been probably existing there since the Etruscan age.
in the 8th C., the counts of Gherardesca built there a fortress, on the top of the hill, which became very poweful in the 10th C.

Campiglia Marittima is a renowed and well equipped seaside resort, with wide and beatiful pinewoods, an efficient touristic harbour and a fantastic acquatic park.
Beside the picturesque historical centre, the surroundings are worth visiting, as the Gothic Pieve di San Giovanni, the Etruscan furnaces, the Rocca di San Silvestro, the spas of Caldana and the ancient calidarium, with its thermal little lake.

Thermal waters of the Valle del Sole | Loc. Caldana (Valle del Sole Terme)
The thermal waters of the Valle del Sole Spa come from the hot springs of Caldana. Both the Etruscans and the Romans knew of the therapeutical effect of this springs. The Spa water has a natural temperature of 45° and comes from a crater in Caldana while the swimming pool water comes from the springs of Canneto (36°). The springs supply the Bagni di Caldana (well equipped for therapeutic treatments) and the Calidario lake. The Calidario thermal baths are set in splendid historical surroundings.

Pieve di San Giovanni