Massa Marittima is a city of art nestled between the Metalliferous Hills, surrounded by the Maremma countryside and full of inherited historical, environmental and architectural beauties from a thriving past. From the medieval village, up to the new city, you can walk the ancient and steep alleys that intertwine in the historic center and climb up to the upper part of the village; here it's easy find picturesque and characteristic corners and viewpoints overlooking the valley to the sea. Many of the most significant places are enclosed by the city square: the marvelous Cathedral of San Cerbone, where are kept works of great value such as the polychrome wooden crucifix by Giovanni Pisano and the masterpiece of the table depicting the Madonna delle Grazie attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna, the Palazzo Comunale, the Fonti that surround the famous fresco of the Abundance and the Palazzo del Podesta 'site of the archaeological museum. Going up to the New Town you will find the buildings dating back to the XIII century: the complex of San Pietro all'Orto, with the cloister of Sant'Agostino, the Torre del Candeliere and the Sienese Fortress. Particularly interesting and suggestive, for tourists and visitors, are the main events that take place every year in the city during the summer: the Balestro del Girifalco, the Toscana Fotofestival, Opera in Piazza and Goblets Under the Stars.

Typical Metalliferous Hills Mine as reproduced in the Massa Marittima Mine Museum. The museum is located near the historic center and reproduces a mine, reflecting the importance of the mining tradition of Massa Marittima and in memory of an activity that has now ended and has indelibly marked the history and the past of the territory of the Metalliferous Hills. The museum was founded in 1980, by some retired miners, and is structured like a real mine divided into three galleries on one level, for a total of about 700 meters. During the visit of the museum, one can see the extraction techniques of the ore, the armor works of the galleries, some minerals and many tools and tools used by miners in their hard work. It offers the visitor a totally realistic glimpse of the mine and the work that took place there, both for the didactic aspect of the visit and for the atmosphere that has been recreated.

The abbey of San Galgano is a Cistercian abbey, located about thirty kilometers from Siena, in the municipality of Chiusdino. The site consists of the hermitage (called "Rotonda di Montesiepi") and the great Abbey, now completely in ruins and reduced only to the walls, a destination for tourist flow. The lack of the roof that highlights the articulation of the architectural structure, this abbey is common to those of Melrose and Kelso in Scotland, of Tintern in Wales, of Cashel in Ireland, of Eldena in Germany and of the Convento do Carmo in Lisbon in Portugal.

The chapter house was one of the more important environments of the abbey as the monks' chapter met to deliberate the actions concerning the government of the community. It is a very large environment, which is accessed by a pointed arch and is divided into six bays by fairly low columns that support as many cross vaults. The lighting was provided by two large mullioned windows with twin columns open on the cloister and three small windows with a round arch placed on the back wall.

It is possible to see the Equinoxial Sun rise at the center of the three-light window behind the remains of the Altare dell'Abbaziadi San Galgano. The facade of the Abbey built by the Cistercian monks is in fact placed exactly in the East direction. During the Spring Equinox, the façade is illuminated by the rising sun and its light, penetrating through the center of the trifora, illuminates that which remains of the altar, creating a very suggestive spectacle.

The Cistercian monks settled in the small hermitage of Montesiepi, making sure that the hermitage could no longer contain neither the faithful nor the faithful, they decided to start the construction of the abbey in 1218 in the plain below, encouraged by the Bishop of Volterra. Soon the monks of San Galgano became a point of reference for the whole territory and for the Republic of Siena, accumulating sufficient assets to complete the construction of the imposing Abbey. This has the classic gothic appearance of the other Cistercian complexes, with a cross plan Latin with three naves, rich in inlaid capitals, cloister, chapter house and bell tower long destroyed, rare example for a Cistercian abbey.

San Galgano (Galgano Guidotti - Chiusdino 1148 - San Galgano 1181) was a knight lived in Tuscany in the 12th century who, having converted after a disorderly youth, he withdrew to an eremitical life to give himself to penance, with the same intensity with which he had first been given to debauchery. The highlight of the his conversion took place on Christmas Day in 1180, when Galgano, on the hill of Montesiepi, stuck his sword into the ground, purpose of turning the weapon into a cross. In fact, in the Rotonda there is a boulder with a hinge and a segment of a sword sprouting from the slits corroded by years and by rust, now protected by a case. The evident echo of the Arthurian myth did not fail to arouse curiosity and, obviously, some bold hypothesis on possible relations between the mythology of the Round Table and the history of the Chiusdinese saint.

Roccatederighi is a fraction of the municipality of Roccastrada, in the province of Grosseto. This village located on the top of a hill west of Roccastrada, it was built in the Middle Ages and passed under the control of the Sienese during the fourteenth century; in the middle of the sixteenth century it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The medieval village of Roccatederighi is one of the most interesting of the Maremma, camouflaged among the enormous rocks of rhyolite, called "the boulders", it follows the profile with the towers and the roofs in an unusual aesthetic expression that is perfectly coherent with the natural appearance. On the occasion of the village festival, in the month of August, the now famous "Festa del Borgo" is celebrated with the participation of artists of all kinds: painters, sculptors, jugglers, acrobats and jesters, which echo laughter and joy among the walls of a country, still very close to its past history. Going beyond the ancient gate of the castle, you will find yourself not only in one place, but also in a distant time: you will be literally immersed in the MIDDLE AGES. The country is divided into five districts: the Corso, the Ventosa, the Torre, the Tramonto and the Nobles. They participate on 14 August each year in the characteristic "corsa dei ciuchi" (followed by medieval historical parades) to win the "palio", a drape painted by local artists.

Montemassi is a suggestive medieval village situated on the slopes of a hill in the south-western part of the municipality of Roccastrada in the province of Grosseto. The village of Montemassi is very picturesque because it has still maintained the appearance of a compact "pigna" village, at the foot of the castle of the same name. The Sienese were able to conquer and conquer Montemassi in the second half of the thirteenth century but, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, the country managed to become an independent center under the control and protection of the Pannocchieschi and the Cappucciani family of Sticciano. Subsequently, it was again besieged and conquered by Guidoriccio da Fogliano on behalf of the Sienese (1328) who control for the numerous local revolts occurred in various periods and for various interferences of some families of the countryside. In the middle of the sixteenth century, in Following the definitive fall of the Republic of Siena, Montemassi became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and, since then, has followed its fate. Montemassi It is depicted in the famous fresco by Simone Martini inside the Palazzo Comunale di Siena during one of the many violent sieges conducted by the Sienese and headed by the leader Guidoriccio da Fogliano.

Roccastrada was built in the Middle Ages under the Aldobrandeschi. In the fourteenth century, it was conquered by the Sienese who began the exploitation of copper and silver mines, controlling the entire area until the middle of the sixteenth century, when Roccastrada also became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Built on a trachitic rock base, it enjoys an enviable position, overlooking the Sienese and Grosseto hills. Administrative center of the municipal territory, the town develops around its historic center, with the beautiful church of the thirteenth century of San Nicola and the small Teatro dei Concordi. The town of Roccastrada contains a unique and varied landscape, from the plain that extends to the Tyrrhenian Sea with arable land, vineyards and pastures, up to the low mountains and the hills with beautiful medieval villages. The inner part of the Maremma, in which the municipality of Roccastrada is located, with its mild and favorable climate and its productive potential played a decisive role for the configuration of the human landscape and for the division of political and economic power into the territory . The destiny of this region has always been that of being exploited as a producer of raw materials since the Etruscan era. Castles like Montemassi and Roccatederighi, with their fascinating aspect of impregnable fortresses, express the immobility of a world that has remained feudal for a long time, outside the economic frenzy of the center of Tuscany.

Follonica is a modern and flourishing town of about 25,000 inhabitants and one of its main attractions are the beautiful beaches of fine sand and shallow waters. bordered by beautiful pine forests, which make it one of the most sought after holiday destinations on the Tuscan coast. The tourist vocation of Follonica is also due to the layout of its Gulf, which extends from Piombino to Puntone di Scarlino and overlooks the island of Elba, offering a fantastic glimpse of the islands of the Tuscan archipelago. The nucleus of the city of Follonica has ancient origins, but its fortunes begin around the VI century BC. when iron working, already developed in Etruria from the age of the Bronze, it is further expanded. Its favorable geographic position, in front of the island of Elba (main center of metal extraction) and the richness of the woods of its surroundings, made Follonica the main melting point of metals all along the coast. The ancient history of Follonica is mainly linked to that of the Castello di Valli, dating back to 884, whose ruins still today they stand out to the north of the city, and that remained the only inhabited center until 1800 when, around the foundries, it began to develop a modern village.

Follonica was founded with the construction of the Royal and Imperial Foundries commissioned by Leopold II of Tuscany in 1834, around which a "factory-village" was built. In 1836, with the passage to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Grand Duke set up the "Imperial and Royal Administration of the Mines of Rio and of the Iron Foundries of Follonica". Leopold II's investment in upgrading technological plant, transformed the leopolda foundry in the second most important in Europe and the small iron and steel center became the center of its program of economic rebalancing and the point of support for its plan for the complete reclamation of the Maremma, with the rehabilitation of the swampy areas of Scarlino and Piombino. In the foundries, a very modern material such as cast iron began to be worked, which was used for objects of common use, but also melted by imitating the most popular styles of history, for architectural applications, which were successful in Italy and abroad. Among the objects coming from Follonica we can remember the Balaustra of the Duomo of Florence and the Church of San Defendente on the Island of Elba. But the main tribute to the foundries is surely the Church of San Leopoldo (1838, Manetti and Reishammer), unique in its kind because it is built with a façade and very many internal elements completely in cast iron.

The imperial Regie Fonderie after the unification of Italy took the name of Fonderie dell'Ilva, which at the time were avant-garde and finally ceased the steel business in 1960. Currently, the area is commonly known as the former ILVA area and inside it have been restored several ancient buildings, one of which houses the interesting Museum of Cast Iron Arts in the Maremma (MAGMA). At the entrance of the city 'factory you can still admire the beautiful Main Gate (1831, Manetti and Reishammer) testimony of the artistic production of the foundry and symbol of the city of Follonica.

The Golf Club Toscana www.golfclubtoscana.com is a warm environment in which to enjoy a healthy day of golf and relax in the Club House after 18 very busy holes! A beautiful swimming pool is available, next to the Pool Bar will refresh you on hot summer days! Surrounded by impressive pine trees, the area offers numerous spots to relax. Before or after the game, taking a dip or sipping a cocktail is exactly what it takes!

The Golf Club Toscana www.golfclubtoscana.com is a warm environment in which to enjoy a healthy day of golf and relax in the Club House after 18 very busy holes! A beautiful swimming pool is available, next to the Pool Bar will refresh you on hot summer days! Surrounded by impressive pine trees, the area offers numerous spots to relax. Before or after the game, taking a dip or sipping a cocktail is exactly what it takes!

The Port of Puntone di Scarlino is the port of the homonymous seaside resort of the municipality of Scarlino. Marina di Scarlino is the first project in Italy for pleasure boating that integrates prestigious homes, Yacht Club, wellness and high quality services quality dedicated to true sea lovers in a high-profile architectural complex. The marina of Marina di Scarlino is one of the most important of the Mediterranean, loved and frequented by the most important skippers who here compete in numerous international regattas. The Marina hosts the Yacht Service and the Scarlino Nautical Club. The port has 950 berths, from 8.5 to 36 meters, with draft from 2 to 4.5 meters. The seats are equipped with piers floating, drinking water, electricity and wi-fi connection.

The beach of Cala Violina is perhaps the most beautiful bay in all of Tuscany, who has been there It was certainly not surprising when in 2004 and 2005 this small jewel of the Tyrrhenian Sea was awarded by Legambiente as one of the 11 most beautiful beaches of the entire Italian peninsula. The beach owes its name to the particular nature of the fine white sand that the distinguishes, so particular to reproduce a sort of violin sound when you walk over it barefoot. Enclosed between two promontories covered with Mediterranean scrub, Cala Violina is also known for its transparent waters and the seabed of rare beauty, formed by banks of Posidonia Oceanica and sandstone boulders, among which you can meet fish of all sizes. Cala Violina beach is located in the heart of the Bandite di Scarlino Nature Reserve in the province of Grosseto, the Bandite are a large forest complex between Castiglione della Pescaia, Gavorrano, Scarlino and Follonica. The beach can be reached on foot, by bike or on horseback through two paths, one of which enters the scrubland Mediterranean, the other is that of the Coast, a flat panormaic path along the coast that, in addition to offering a breathtaking view, reaches coves rocky areas of undoubted beauty, such as Cala Francese, Cala Martina, up to Cala Violina.

The origins of Siena are lost in the Etruscan era, even if a legend tells of the foundation, which took place at the hands of Senio, one of the two sons of Remus (the brother of Romulus, founder of Rome). According to legend, the two brothers left Rome to escape from Romulus who wanted them dead; in the escape the two stole a marble she-wolf and took her as a trophy to the place where they took shelter and where they then founded the new city. The wolf is still the symbol of the city. On the Etruscan settlement (whose traces can be seen at the Archaeological Museum), a Roman military colony was created in the time of Augustus, Saena Iulia, which in the following centuries developed thanks to its location (the city was on the consular road Cassia, the francigena). A thriving city starting in the 10th century, Siena became a merchant town, a banker (the Monte dei Paschi di Siena is the oldest bank in the world), and popes (Pius II - Enea Silvio Piccolomini was part of the nobilta 'senese) and saints (Santa Caterina da Siena is the co-patron of Italy). The war between Guelphs and Ghibellines sees Siena as opposed to the Guelph Florence, which led to several clashes including the battle of Montaperti (still celebrated today in the Palio). With the plague of 1348 the slow decline of the city began, until the fall of the Republic and its transfer (with the peace of Cateau Cambresis) to Florence, of which followed the fate in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the 'Italy.

Siena, located in the heart of Tuscany and surrounded by hills, between Val D'Orcia and Crete Senesi, is one of the most beautiful medieval cities in Italy, whose historic center has been protected by UNESCO since 1995. The heart of the city is the famous Piazza del Campo, with its particular shell shape, in which the famous Palio is held, one of the most important events for all the Sienese people. The Palio di Siena is a passionate horse race that takes place every year, in July and August, and its origins seem to date back to the seventeenth century. Piazza del Campo is the central nucleus of Siena since the time of the Romans, who had their Forum here. The square was repaved during the Government of the Nine, a semi-democratic group in power between 1287 and 1355, with a division into nine sections in memory of the Government and symbolizes the mantle of the Madonna that protects the city.

The Campo is dominated by the red Palazzo Pubblico and its tower, called Torre del Mangia. The Palazzo Pubblico, as well as the Duomo of Siena, was built during the Government of the Nine, the period of maximum economic and cultural splendor of Siena. The Palace still today houses the offices of the Municipality, similarly to Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, and from here you can access the Museo Civico where some of the most beautiful paintings of the Sienese school are kept. The Sala del Concistoro offers one of the most beautiful works by Domenico Beccafumi, who frescoed the ceilings by painting the cycle of public virtues. In the Sala del Mappamonto and in the Sala della Pace (or Sala dei Nove) there are some real masterpieces: the great Maesta 'and the equestrian portrait of Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the siege of Montemassi by Simone Martini and the Allegories of Good and Bad Government of Ambrogio Lorenzetti, considered one of the major pictorial cycles of the Middle Ages.

The Cathedral of Siena, located in the square of the same name located above Piazza del Campo, is a beautiful complex in Gothic style that houses a large amount of Donatello, Pisano and Michelangelo's treasures, as well as frescoes by Pinturicchio. The Cathedral is of an impressive beauty, so much so that it is enough to admire its external part to remain deeply affected. Built between 1214 and 1263, it has a Latin cross structure and a not very protruding dome with the bell tower next to it. Both the exterior and the interior are decorated in blocks of white marble with alternating thinner greenish black stripes, these are the representative colors of Siena. Inside, raising your head you notice busts of Sienese religious men lived in the past, but particular attention should be paid to the floor, where the most impressive works of art of the cathedral are found. There are 56 scenes engraved and engraved on marble between 1369 and 1547 by 40 important artists of the time, all originally from Siena except the Umbrian Bernardino di Betto, better known as Pinturicchio. To complete all the work it took about 600 years, the last box was finished in 1800.

Among the many precious treasures of the Cathedral there is the Piccolomini Library, dedicated to Enea Silvio Piccolomini, powerful and authoritative figure in the relations between state and church and elected Pope Pius II in 1458. The Library was built and designed by Pope's nephew himself Pius II in memory of his uncle, in order to cover all the manuscripts collected with dedication. It is worth visiting the library not so much for the collection of manuscripts as for admiring the frescoes by Pinturicchio and his students, among which a young Raffaello Sanzio stands out.

The Basilica of Santa Maria dei Servi in ??San Clemente is one of the masterpieces of the Sienese Middle Ages and is situated on the hill overlooking Valdimontone, in Piazza Manzoni. The Serviti arrived in Siena around 1250, coming from their first convent of Monte Senario, founded previously in 1234. Initially established outside the city, they were invited by the municipality to build their church within the city walls, on the current site where the parish church of San Clemente. The construction of the convent could therefore begin a few years after 1250, thanks also a donation of land by the Tolomei family and a donation of bricks by the municipality of Siena. The new convent thus incorporated the pre-existing parish church of San Clemente, explaining the origin of the name of the convent.

The port of Punta Ala is located at the southern end of the Gulf of Follonica and is the port of the seaside resort of the municipality of Castiglione della Pescaia on the Tyrrhenian Sea. The port and the locality of Punta Ala are well known in the environments sailing for being the cradle of Luna Rossa, the Italian boat protagonist in the America's Cup races from 1999-2000. The infrastructure is a modern harbor divided into three sections separated by two piers, the north and south quays, with a quay signaled by two lighthouses that separate it from the open sea. The seabed has a depth of over 5 meters at the entrance and never less than 2 meters in the internal basins; Numerous insurances are also secured at the port services for boats. The photo shows the port and the Isoletta dello Sparviero with the Porchetti rocks, while in the background on the right you can see the promontory of Piombino which represents the other end of the Gulf of Follonica to the north.

The Punta Ala Golf Club www.golfpuntaala.it started its activity in the spring of 1964. Its layout, which develops a length total of 6.168 meters, it winds with gentle undulations of the ground in the middle of the thick Maremma scrub evergreen vegetation of domestic and maritime pines, cork oaks, centuries-old holm oaks, lush oaks and albatross bushes. Each hole presents difficulties of various kinds, creating as a whole a field that can meet the needs of each player.

The Punta Ala Golf Club www.golfpuntaala.it started its activity in the spring of 1964. Its layout, which develops a length total of 6.168 meters, it winds with gentle undulations of the ground in the middle of the thick Maremma scrub evergreen vegetation of domestic and maritime pines, cork oaks, centuries-old holm oaks, lush oaks and albatross bushes. Each hole presents difficulties of various kinds, creating as a whole a field that can meet the needs of each player.

Monteriggioni is a town in the province of Siena and is part of the so-called Montagnola Senese. The Castle of Monteriggioni was built by the Sienese, by order of the Podesta 'Guelfo da Porcari, in a period between 1214 and 1219. The land, bought by the noble family Da Staggia, was the site of an ancient Lombard farmhouse. The construction of the castle by the Republic of Siena had mainly defensive purpose, as the village was built on Mount Ala, in a position of domination and surveillance of the Via Francigena, to control the valleys of Elsa and Staggia in the direction of Florence, historical rival of Siena. There is no agreement among historians on the possible presence of the drawbridge. Sure, however, is the presence of the shutters, or thick wooden doors covered with iron that were operated by pulleys. Even today the two doors present the signs of the hinges and the holes caused by the closing poles. On the San Giovanni door you can also notice the signs of the ravelin, another rectangular defensive structure placed in front of the door and also equipped with a drawbridge or a second door. The Castle of Monteriggioni was also surrounded by the so-called charcoal, that is, ditches full of coal that was set on fire to repel assaults.

According to legend, the goddess Venus, goddess of beauty, emerging from the wonderful waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, let fall from the necklace that carried around the neck seven pearls, which fell into the sea becoming the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. The Tuscan Archipelago National Park is the largest Marine Park in Europe and includes all the main islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba Island, the largest and most touristy, Giglio, Capraia, Montecristo, Pianosa, Giannutri and Gorgona and some minor islets and rocks. An "anomalous" archipelago, because each island is a unique reality, with its own character different from the others and rich of a marvelous review of natural environments, vegetation, culture, history and art. All the islands are also part of the Pelagos Sanctuary for marine mammals, a marine protected area that extends for almost 90,000 sq km, established thanks to an agreement between Italy, the Principality of Monaco and France. The Islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, although they are subject to a different regime of protection, are all open to visitors. The nearest boarding from which you can leave to stay on the major islands or take tours of a day and mini-cruises in the archipelago are in Piombino, Castiglioni della Pescaia and Porto Ferraio.

Volterra, famous for the extraction and processing of alabaster, is the oldest village in Tuscany. In fact, the city preserves traces of its Etruscan origin, of the Roman era, of the barbarian invasions, to finally pass to the bishop's domain and to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The evidence of the Etruscan origins are visible in the remarkable historical center, of this era the Porta all'Arco remains, magnificently preserved; the Porta Diana, which preserves the blocks of the jambs; most of of the city walls, built with cyclopean blocks of local stone; the Acropolis, where there are foundations of two temples, various buildings and some tanks; numerous hypogea used for the burial of the dead, along with Roman ruins, including the Hemicycle Theater, and medieval buildings such as the Cathedral, the Medici Fortress and the Palazzo dei Priori on the homonymous square, the nerve center of the town.

Porta San Francesco in Volterra is one of the main access gates to the city, as part of it of the medieval wall circuit. Also known as Santo Stefano or Pisana, because through the Val d'Era it led to Pisa. It is the only door that it retains in the time traces of frescoes that were present in all the gateways to the city. Inside, on the right, the Pisan reed is carved unit slightly longer than that of the volterrana, sculpted on the facades of the Palazzo dei Priori.

The cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta is the main Catholic place of worship in Volterra, mother church of the homonymous diocese. Not sure what the first city cathedral was; in any case, a church existed from the ninth century dedicated to Santa Maria. Rebuilt after the violent earthquake of 1117, it was enlarged in the second half of the thirteenth century. The marble portal is made up from reuse material from the Vallebuona Roman theater.

The Roman theater of Volterra was brought to light in the fifties by excavations archaeological sites conducted in the Vallebuona area by Enrico Fiumi, historic Volterra: some hospitalized patients were used as workers psychiatric of Volterra, as mentioned by a plaque placed at the entrance of the building. The monument dates back to the end of the 1st century BC and the 13 d. C. and the its construction was financed by the rich Volterran family of the Caecina, in particular the consuls Gaio Cecina Largo and Aulo Cecina Severo, as remembered from the dedicatory epigraph of the theater itself, preserved in the Guarnacci Etruscan Museum. The theater was partially excavated in the natural slope with an elevation similar to that of the Greek theaters. This part of the city, in Etruscan times, was not occupied by buildings, as they were there only works to contain the steep slope, which made it a suitable place for the construction of a theater.

The hill of San Gimignano was inhabited since the Etruscan period, thanks to its dominant position on the valley. San Gimignano was called so 'around the tenth century AD. in honor of San Geminiano, bishop of Modena, who saved it from the barbarians by appearing on the city walls. In the Middle Ages, San Gimignano flowers thanks to the fact that it is crossed by the Via Francigena, serving as a reference point for traders, travelers and pilgrims going to Rome. At the end of 1100, San Gimignano became a free municipality. The city was involved in the struggles between Guelphs and Ghibellines, alternating for years under their rule. Nevertheless, 1200 was the century of its greatest economic development, thanks to the trade in local products (such as saffron and wines). In this period the city was embellished by seventy towers, built by wealthy families as ostentation of wealth and power, of which only 14 remain today, which characterize the city center making its profile unmistakable. In the year 1300, San Gimignano welcomed Dante Alighieri, as ambassador of the Guelph league. In the middle of the century, San Gimignano was hit by the plague and famine and had to submit to Florence, suffering a slow political and economic decline, but continuing to grow from an artistic and cultural point of view.

San Gimignano has managed to preserve its medieval appearance and charm. In addition to its unmistakable towers, it boasts well-preserved buildings examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture: the Palazzo Comunale, the Duomo or Basilica della Collegiata, whose interior walls are entirely covered with frescoes with scenes from the Old and New Testament by artists of the School Sienese and Florentine, among which the Renaissance frescoes by Domenico Ghirlandaio, the Church of Sant'Agostino, the Piazza della Cisterna. The "city with beautiful towers" is the oldest village in Tuscany and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990. However, San Gimignano owes its fame and prosperity to typical products of its land: the famous Vernaccia, produced by the homonymous vine cultivated for centuries on its hills, and the production of precious saffron.

Populonia owes its fame not to its Rocca but to the fact of being the Etruscan Pupluna or Fufluna, one of the most important cities of the Etruscan civilization and one of the settlements most ancient and prestigious human beings in the whole of Tuscany. The finds discovered in its extensive necropolis confirm that the area was inhabited at least from the Neolithic period. The urban nucleus consisted of two parts: the Acropolis, high up to the Gulf of Baratti, and the "industrial" one on the coast, equipped with port facilities and iron smelting ovens. Like all the Etruscan cities, Populonia also experienced decadence with the progressive growth of the power of Rome and, in the following centuries, life in the city never regained great vigor, also because of the pirate raids. Populonia was reborn in the Middle Ages, when it was decided in the fourteenth century to provide the village of the castle that still dominates the hill. The visit to the fortification is important as the Fortress of Populonia can be considered a fundamental point of the fortified architecture in the passage from the castle to the fortress. Unlike many other castles, completely distorted in shape and appearance end of the fifteenth century, the element that dominates the complex is still the mighty rectangular tower that was the primitive medieval keep.

The Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia covers about 80 hectares between the slopes of the promontory of Piombino and the Gulf of Baratti. It houses one of the most important contexts of civilization Etruscan, because of the traces of the steel industry and of the cultural and commercial aspects that developed from it. The Park includes a significant part of the Etruscan and Roman settlement of Populonia, with its vast areas necropolis, calcarenite quarries and industrial districts. The Park is a veritable open-air museum, shimmering with ferrous waste, which bear witness to the grandeur of the Etruscan industrial city. The beach is dotted from the tumulus tombs of the great Etruscan necropolis of San Cerbone, while the first hills overlooking the sea preserve traces of the ancient quarries and tombs carved into the rock. In the lower part of the Park ("Necropolis") there is the Center of Experimental Archeology where, guided by two experienced operators, you can experiment the ancient techniques of working with ceramics and stone, realizing personally, with reproductions of ancient tools in bone, wood and stone, small objects of daily or decorative use.

The abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore is a monastic complex within the municipality of Asciano, seat of the Abbot General of the Congregation Benedettina di Monte Oliveto and is home to the territorial abbey of Monte Oliveto Maggiore. Located on a hill overlooking the Crete Senesi in a cypress wood, oaks and pines, is one of the most important monuments of Tuscany both for its historical-territorial importance and for the high number of works of art it contains.

After crossing an atrium, where a 16th century washbasin and a fresco of the Annunciation of the Riccio are placed, the Refectory is accessed. The latter is made up of a single large covered area with a lowered barrel vaulted ceiling and lunette lit by large rectangular windows that open onto the left wall. The walls and the they are decorated with frescos by friar Paolo Novelli who realized them in 1670. On the back wall there is the canvas representing the Last Supper by Lino Dinetto (1948) in place of an ancient fresco having as subject the same theme, currently largely lost.

The characteristic village has developed around the medieval castle (extensively remodeled over the centuries) which stands on a modest hill accessible through the suggestive Viale dei Cipressi, a road almost five kilometers long that begins in the valley, on the Via Aurelia, right in front of the eighteenth-century Oratory of San Guido: the place has been made famous by the verses of Giosue 'Carducci in the poem Davanti a San Guido (1874). Moreover, inside the village, there is the monumental cemetery where the grandmother of the same poet, Lucia, was buried. Not far from the inhabited center, on a rise placed almost 400 meters above sea level, stands the ancient fortified town of Castiglioncello di Bolgheri, with the church of San Bernardo.

The oratory was built in 1703 on commission of the family La Gherardesca to remember the ancestor Guido, a hermit who lived between the 11th and 12th centuries. At the front, the door is surmounted by a semicircular tympanum and from a memorial in white marble. The interior is dominated by the main stone, in white marble and stucco attributed to Romolo Della Bella (eighteenth century).

Montalcino is a hilly town in the province of Siena, famous for its Brunello wine. The city is located near the Crete Senesi of Val d'Orcia, 42 km (26 minutes) from Siena. The hill on which Montalcino is located has probably been inhabited since ancient times by the Etruscans. His first mention in historical documents in 814 dec. suggest that there was a church in the ninth century, probably built by the monks associated with the nearby Abbey of Sant'Antimo. The population grew suddenly in the middle of the 10th century, when people fleeing from the nearby town of Roselle took up residence there. The city takes its name from an oak variety that once covered the ground. The height of the city offers a breathtaking view on the Tuscan valleys of the Asso, Ombrone and Arbia, dotted with silver olive trees, vineyards, fields and villages. The slopes of the Montalcino hill are dominated by highly productive vineyards and olive groves.

The Natural Park of the Maremma or Uccellina Park is perhaps the highest expression of this land, which is one of the most pristine natural areas of Italy (13 Nature Reserves including some WWF oases and almost 40,000 hectares of protected land). Mediterranean spot, woods, marshes and hills, sandy beaches and cliffs are the dominant landscapes of the Park, which stretches between Principina a Mare and Talamone, close to the mountains Uccellina. The Natural Park is a magical and fascinating realm, offering to the sight intact landscapes of a poignant beauty, to be covered on foot, by mountain bike, on horseback or by canoe along the river Ombrone, and beautiful beaches, like that of Marina di Alberese. In the park it will be easy to bump into wild animals, like the imposing Maremma cattle, with the characteristic big horns and the gray coat, and the Maremma horses, roe deer, fallow deer, wild boars and foxes that venture even to the beaches, porcupines, and many other species of birds and small mammals. The Park is open all year round and it is possible to visit it by following a series of itineraries, for some of which a guide is required, of different length and with different times according to the season.

The traditions of the Maremma, linked to nature and the slow rhythms of the seasons, are expressed above all through the figure of the Butteri Maremmani, typical shepherds on horseback. Between the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century these almost heroic figures crossed the rough and marshy areas of the Maremma to lead oxen and grazing horses, checking that none of these were lost in the thick Mediterranean scrub. They were the only ones who knew how to move and how to survive in a wild and inhospitable land. The characteristic Maremma horses, bred in total freedom, are closely linked to the figure of the butteri. Small and proud, the natural selection that took place over the centuries has made them extremely strong and able to face any weather and adversity with strength and determination, like all the inhabitants of the Maremma. After the economic boom and industrialization, the Buttero has been gradually disappearing but, thanks to some Associations, it has not become extinct and has continued to carry out the Transhumance, the Merca (branding) and the Doma of the Foals, all activities that can also be joined by ordinary people who want to know and experience the Maremma more closely. There are also splendid performances of equestrian groups, which still organize at their Maremma locations, during which they demonstrate their ability in carousels, games and horse training.

Founded by the Villanovans in the tenth century BC, the city of Florence was later inhabited by the Etruscans settled in Fiesole, a village on a nearby hill, and below guarding the ford of the Arno, which being navigable allowed the movement of goods easily'. Later, it was occupied by the Romans, who made it an encampment for the control of the river and of the Via Cassia. Until the Middle Ages, the city was only a small town, but its slow rise began in the XIIth century. Established as a free municipality in 1115, Florence grew considerably with the trades of its artefacts and began to impose itself on the nearby cities of Pisa, Pistoia, Siena and Arezzo. The Artisans Guilds were born and among these the seven Major Arts formed by noble and rich merchants who in that period actually governed the city. Later, the numerous conflicts between the most prominent families divided into the factions of the Guelphs and Ghibellines, and the continuing disagreements between the aristocrats and the people, provoked a general instability that brought the Medici family of rich merchants and bankers to impose on the city government. Beginning with Cosimo the Elder, they practiced a regime of Lordship, extending their power over the whole of Tuscany and succeeding in counting among their families three popes and two queens of France. However, they were magnanimous sovereigns and attentive to the needs of the population and embellished Florence with monuments, palaces and works of art.

It was above Lorenzo, known as Il Magnifico, nephew of Cosimo, who conquered the benevolence of his fellow citizens. A charismatic personality, art lover and artist himself, he surrounded himself with illustrious men and made his city a center of reference for humanistic culture and international politics. The Medici, with the exception of a period at the end of the fifteenth century characterized by the policies of the friar Girolamo Savonarola, governed the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the extinction of the family occurred in 1737. The Grand Duchy, by agreement between dynasties, then moved to the family of Lorraine, who became Habsburg-Lorraine with the marriage of Francesco Stefano and Maria Teresa of Austria. Even the Lorraine were just and liberal princes. They contributed to the economic progress of the region, reclaimed the Maremma, eliminated the restrictions on the export of goods and encouraged studies. Moreover, with Pietro Leopoldo, the Leopoldino Code was issued, which made the Grand Duchy the first state in the world to have formally abolished torture and the death penalty. Except for a brief period of French domination, Tuscany remained under the dominion of the Habsburg-Lorraine until 1860, when with a plebiscite it was annexed to the reign of Vittorio Emanuele II of Savoy. In 1865 Florence was the capital of Italy until 1871, when Rome took over and, to adapt to the new role, the Viali dei Colli and Piazzale Michelangelo were built.

Florence preserves a historical-artistic heritage known throughout the world and its historic center is a living archive of Italian and European culture, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 1982. The city has given birth to intellectuals and artists who have made the history of art and literature from the thirteenth century to the present day: Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Brunelleschi, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Cimabue, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lorenzo de 'Medici, Niccolo' Macchiavelli. In Piazza del Duomo are the symbols of the Renaissance: the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the famous Giotto's bell tower and, in front of the cathedral, the Baptistery, with the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti. Li 'near the Basilica of San Lorenzo, also designed by Brunelleschi with the patronage of the Medici, with inside the sacristy of Donatello and Michelangelo. Walking through the alleys of its historic center means imagining the intense life of traders, but also the secrets and intrigues of political and civil power, as in Piazza della Signoria, where the majestic figure of Michelangelo's David dominates. The statue faces the Loggia della Signoria, a veritable open-air art gallery and Palazzo Vecchio, one of the most important medieval public palaces in Italy. From here there is the entrance to the Uffizi Gallery, the most ancient art museum of modern Europe.

Santa Reparata, which stood in place of the current one, was not sufficiently sumptuous to glorify the importance and the grandeur acquired by Florence in the Middle Ages. The cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, begun in 1296 by Arnolfo di Cambio and concluded in 1436, had to overcome the magnificence of the cathedral of Siena, but above all it had to be at the Baptistery, present in the square since the eleventh century and much loved from the Florentines. The interior is simple and austere, with tall columns that reach the ceiling illuminated by windows and lead to the enormous space of Brunelleschi's dome, built without the use of wooden support scaffolding, but through the creation of a double cap and of bricks placed in a herringbone pattern as for Roman use. Brunelleschi deeply studied the ruins of Roman buildings and above all the Pantheon and the Domus Aurea and determined the triumph of Renaissance art, with the return to the classic and the expansion of space. The inner shell is decorated with frescoes of the Last Judgment by Vasari and Federico Zuccari; the windows, frescoes and decorations are the work of the most important artists of the time, such as Ghiberti, Paolo Uccello, Donatello and Andrea del Castagno. Artists such as Andrea Pisano, Francesco Talenti, Lapo Ghini and Baccio d'Agnolo contributed to the completion of Santa Maria del Fiore. The Campanile, started by Giotto in 1334, is 84 meters tall and is considered the most beautiful in the world.

The Basilica of Santa Croce is the largest Franciscan church in the world and one of the greatest achievements of Gothic in Italy. It is known as Temple of the Glories for the numerous burials of great artists, writers and scientists and is a prestigious symbol of Florence, the meeting place of the greatest artists, theologians, religious, writers, humanists and politicians of Tardo-Medievo and Renaissance. In 1226-1228, Saint Francis of Assisi, with a group of his followers, settled in the city, choosing an inhospitable area just outside the walls, where they founded an oratory that, as the community of friars grew, was first enlarged and then restructured. The new church soon became insufficient and in 1294 it was decided to rebuild it. Based on a project by Arnolfo di Cambi, it was built at the expense of the population of the Florentine Republic and consecrated in 1443. The basilica has been enriched and modified over time, serving as a Franciscan church to a religious "town hall" for large families and corporations, from a laboratory and artistic workshop to a theological center, from "pantheon" of Italian glories to a reference place in history politics of pre and post-unification of Italy. Artists such as Vasari, Cimabue, Giotto, Donatello, Canova and Filippo Brunelleschi have contributed to the construction and decoration of the church, with the masterpiece of the Cappella dei Pazzi.

Florence is the Arno, the river that crosses the city, whose symbol is Ponte Vecchio, with its historical goldsmith and silversmith shops, and the corridor designed by Vasari, which connected the palaces of the right bank with Palazzo Pitti , on the other side of the river, used by the Medici as a protected way to reach their home. Palazzo Pitti is the most monumental building and contains the Galleria Palatina (with works by Giorgione, Raffaello and Tintoretto). From here, accessing the Boboli Gardens, it is easy to imagine the glories of court life among caves, statues, fountains and rare plant species. Here we are also in the district, called Oltrarno, which includes the historic villages of Santo Spirito, with the homonymous basilica, and San Frediano. With their workshops of artisans, goldsmiths and restorers, they make the Oltrarno area of ??Florence where Florentinity still lives and where it is still possible to find small historical shops that use the techniques of the past in their creations. However, it is worth mentioning that on the other side of the Arno there are certainly other masterpieces to visit, such as the Dominican Basilica of Santa Maria Novella, the Bargello Museum, which houses sculptures by the greatest artists of the Renaissance, the Academy, which exhibits the largest number of sculptures by Michelangelo in the world, including the famous David, the largest and most important collection in the world of paintings in gold and the museum of musical instruments.

Behind Palazzo Pitti, which was for almost four centuries the residence of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany and for a short time period of the kings of Italy, lies the wonderful garden of Boboli. The Medici first took care of the arrangement, creating the model of Italian garden that became exemplary for many European courts. The vast green area divided into regular forms, is a real open-air museum, populated with ancient and renaissance statues, adorned with caves and large fountains. Its fascinating paths allow you to grasp the spirit of court life and together to enjoy the experience of a garden that is always renewed while respecting its tradition.

The city of Pisa is located in the wide plain crossed by the river Arno that flows into the Tyrrhenian Sea. The area was once occupied by a large gulf, a brackish lagoon that reached the north of the city of Livorno: the Sinus Pisanus. With the accumulation of sediments carried by the river and the reclamation of the Medici in the following centuries, the land was drained and the city came to be about 12 kilometers from the coast. The birth of the city of Pisa dates back to the Etruscan period in the fifth century BC, just three centuries after the Romans founded the Portus Pisanus, starting the mercantile activity that will make the city a maritime power even after the collapse of the Empire . During the Middle Ages, Pisa reaches its maximum political, economic, cultural and artistic splendor.

In the XI century Pisa became one of the four maritime republics together with Amalfi, Genoa and Venice. During the eleventh century, Pisa increased trade on the Mediterranean Sea and clashed several times with Muslim ships also reporting satisfactory victories. The city of Pisa was also very busy with the crusades, in fact in Pisa the Order of the Templar Knights of Santo Stefano was founded, which had the purpose of escorting pilgrims to the Holy Land and fighting the Turks by sea. The Maritime Republic of Pisa began its decline in 1284, after suffering a serious defeat in Meloria from the enemy Maritime Republic of Genoa. In 1406 Florence occupied Pisa and the Medici family resurrected the city by reconstructing the university and making it one of the major cultural centers in all of Tuscany. Later Pisa was annexed to the Kingdom of Sardinia and consequently to the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The Second World War was a real disaster for the city of Pisa, the continuous bombardment of the Allies caused numerous damage to the monuments, in particular on August 31, 1943 when the city was cut in two by the war front.

Piazza dei Miracoli of Pisa, recognized World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1987, is considered an important religious center already 'by the Etruscans: the three complexes that compose it symbolize the main stages of the life of every man: the Baptistery the birth , the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta the life and the Camposanto the death. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta, begun in 1064, emblem of the Pisan Romanesque style, manifests the influence of different styles and cultures: Byzantine and Islamic components, imported by the Pisan sailors returning from the Middle East and North Africa, testify to the richness and importance achieved by the Maritime Republic of Pisa at the time. Inside there are important works, such as the apse mosaic with San Giovanni Evangelista (1302) by Cimabue and Il Pulpito or Pergamo, a masterpiece by Giovanni Pisano (1302-1310). In front of the Cathedral, the construction of the Baptistery, the largest in Italy, began in 1152. The structure was completely revisited by Nicola Pisano, defined a precursor of the Renaissance, around half of the thirteenth century, modifying it in Gothic style and adding a loggia and a hemispherical dome. At the center of the Baptistery is the great Baptismal Font by Guido Bigarelli da Arogno.

In 1173, work began on the Tower of Pisa, whose slope is due to the underlying territory not perpendicular and subject to continuous subsidence, the main cause of the interruptions of the works during the different eras. In 1275 the tower was enlarged with another 3 floors, while the bell cell was added in about 1350. 55 meters high, has a gradient of 5 degrees to the south, to get up to the bell tower, where there are 7 bells, you have to climb 294 steps. The Campo Santo is an ancient monumental cemetery begun in 1277 by the architect Giovanni di Simone. It has a rectangular structure with a cloister in gothic arches. According to tradition, the structure was built around a large quantity of the Holy Land from the place of Jesus' crucifixion. In the lawn at the center of the cloister, there are numerous sarcophagi and tombs of Roman origin, used for the burial of prestigious men, while in the floor of the corridor we find tombs of Pisan nobles, together with works of art such as Giovanni Pisano's Pulpit Lamp of Galileo Galilei, the Tabernacle of Della Robbia.

A few kilometers from our property, you can reach some spa sites, immersed in very suggestive landscapes, each one with an ancient age, dating back to Etruscan and Roman times. At each site you can immerse yourself in outdoor springs or take advantage of equipped facilities and wellness centers. The closest ones are the Calidario thermal baths in Venturina (55km), moving towards Siena we find the thermal baths of Petriolo (60 km) and Bagno Vignoni (100 km), finally in the province of Grosseto we have the thermal baths of Saturnia with the famous Cascate del Mulino (in the picture alongside).