Holidays in Massa Marittima

Arrived in the tourist city can not remain fascinated with the beauty in front of Piazza Garibaldi in the old city: a beautiful Tuscan town in predominantly Romanesque style, characterized by the presence of the thirteenth century cathedral that stands on a stairway that cuts into two square. The upper part of the city: new town is built in Gothic style, designed as a residential area full of hotels, hotels and bed and breakfast . The two parts of the city are connected by way Moncini.

Route recommended for tourists

Maremma Guide recommends a route for tourists to visit the old town before the new city following Moncini Street, where you can take the side streets to admire the beautiful small gardens and panoramic views.

Just down the road you arrive in Piazza Matteotti, which opens a stretch of wall towns, and you can see the tower of Candlestick el'imponente arc of Siena. From the tower you can enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of the city. You can take advantage of a break in a small park near them.

On the other side of the square is the Museum of Art and History in mines, where you can admire a collection of fossils and a photographic archive of local history. Continuing along Corso Diaz can admire the Church of St. Augustine, characterized by a beautiful cloister and a crenellated tower.

The story

It 'the most beautiful historic city of Maremma, Massa was called by the Romans to indicate the size of the territory. Only in the Middle Ages was given the word "Sea", when he became the most important area in this coastal region.

It was a mining town throughout the Neolithic, with extractions of silver, copper and other resources. In 1310 issued the mining code, the first European statute for the protection of miners.

All this wealth attracted the attention of the city of Siena, who managed to subdue in 1335. In these one hundred years the city of Massa knew fame and prosperity, saw the construction of magnificent monuments, especially the splendid cathedral.

In the years to come, after the outbreak of plague and malaria, Massa became a ghost town. He managed to recover through the reopening of mining and mining reclamation of coastal marshes since 1830.

The Cathedral

The dome of Massa Marittima is made mainly of Pisan Romanesque style, with some additions, like the splendid Gothic tower. The cathedral is dedicated to San Cerbone, bishop of Populonia the sixth century.

On his Internal walls are adorned with sculptures and artwork as best workmanship of the sculptures of Giroldo from Como on the baptistery and the source quadrangular. In the middle of the pan place the tabernacle and some fifteenth-century Romanesque sculptures. In the bottom of the transept stands out the Madonna delle Grazie, a work attributed to Sienese Duccio or Simone Martini. A small crypt also contains a fresco depicting San Cerbone and San Bernardino.

The Archaeological Museum

In Piazza Garibaldi, in the Palazzo del Podesta, place the archaeological museum, where it kept a piece of rare quality and refinement: an altarpiece depicting the Majesty, painted in 1335 by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. The museum also contains a number of archaeological finds of lesser thickness, but of great historical and cultural.

The Museum of Mining