Southern Tuscany - Florence and Tuscany - page 445

THE ALTA MAREMMA

The Alta (Upper) Maremma starts south of Livorno and continues down to Grosseto, incor-
porating Massa Marittima and the surrounding Colline Metallifere (metal- producing hills)
that are now part of Unesco's European Geopark Network. It also covers inland territory
including the hill towns south of the Crete Senesi and the mountainous terrain surrounding
Monte Amiata.

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Massa Marittima
POP 8620
Drawcards at this tranquil hill town include an eccentric yet endearing jumble of museums,
an extremely handsome central piazza and largely intact medieval streets that are blessedly
bereft of tour groups.
Briefly under Pisan domination, Massa Marittima became an independent comune (city-
state) in 1225 but was swallowed up by Siena a century later. A plague in 1348 was fol-
lowed by the decline of the region's lucrative mining industry after 50 years, reducing the
town to the brink of extinction, a situation made even worse by the prevalence of malaria in
surrounding marshlands. Fortunately, the draining of marshes in the 18th century and the
re-establishment of mining shortly afterwards brought Massa Marittima back to life.
The town is divided into three districts: the Città Vecchia (Old Town), Città Nuova (New
Town) and Borgo (Borough). Access from the Città Vecchia to the Città Nuova is via the
massive Arco Senese MAP GOOGLE MAP (Sienese Arch; Piazza Matteotti) , which links defensive
bastions in the old city walls to the Torre del Candeliere MAP

GOOGLE MAP , a tower com-

manding stupendous views over the town.