Grosseto

Maremma capital ringed by Medici walls, opening onto southern Tuscany's beaches, farms, and Etruscan sites.

Grosseto is the capital of the Maremma, the wild southern stretch of Tuscany that most tourists skip in favour of Florence, Siena, and the Chianti hills. The city itself is a modest provincial centre ringed by well-preserved Medici walls, but the real draw is the surrounding countryside — rolling farmland, cork-oak forests, thermal springs, and a coastline that includes some of Tuscany's best beaches.

The Maremma is famous for its agriturismo culture. Organic farming is popular, and the food here is excellent: sun-ripened tomatoes, artichokes, wild mushrooms, olive oil, and above all wild boar, which appears on almost every menu. The Etruscan past of the region is visible too — the Maremma Archaeological Museum in the old centre holds some of the finest Etruscan finds in Tuscany. The Maremma Regional Park to the south protects the wildest stretch of the Tuscan coast, and the natural hot springs at Terme di Saturnia are an hour's drive away.

The most attractive coastal town in the province is Castiglione della Pescaia, a small fishing village dominated by a medieval castle, with rocky coves, pine-backed beaches, and a working harbour. It is an easy day trip from Grosseto or a destination in its own right.

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Day Trips

The Maremma countryside around Grosseto rewards exploration by car. The thermal springs at Terme di Saturnia (55 km south-east) are a natural day trip — free volcanic hot springs cascading over limestone into pools. The Etruscan site of Vetulonia (20 km west) has significant tombs and its own small museum. The coastal hill town of Pitigliano to the south-east is carved from volcanic tufo rock and worth an afternoon. Castiglione della Pescaia on the coast (30 km west) is the nicest beach town in the province, with a medieval village above a working harbour.

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Eating Out

The Maremma has its own distinct food culture, rooted in peasant and pastoral traditions. Wild boar appears on almost every menu — as a ragu on pappardelle, as a stew, or cured as salumi. Acquacotta (literally "cooked water") is the local bread-and-vegetable soup, and cinghiale (wild boar) is the meat you will eat most. Seafood is excellent along the coast. The wines of the Morellino di Scansano DOC, produced just south of Grosseto, are good and reasonably priced.

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Getting There

Grosseto is on the main Pisa–Rome railway line, with regular Trenitalia services north to Pisa and Florence and south to Rome. The journey to Rome takes about two hours. A branch line runs to Siena, though services are infrequent.

By car, the Via Aurelia (SS1) runs through the province connecting Grosseto to Livorno in the north and Rome in the south. From Florence, take the Siena-Grosseto superstrada. Grosseto has its own airport (Baccarini) with a long runway, though commercial services are limited.

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Things to Do

Grosseto's sights are concentrated inside the Medici walls — the cathedral, the archaeological museum, and the hexagonal circuit of ramparts make for a good afternoon in the centro storico. The surrounding Maremma countryside is the bigger draw: the Regional Park of the Maremma to the south has some of the best coastal hiking in Tuscany, and the thermal baths at Saturnia and Terme di Sorano are within easy reach. Castiglione della Pescaia, the most attractive coastal town in the province, is a 30-minute drive.