Maremma
Encyclopedia
The Maremma is a vast area in Italy
bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea, consisting of part of south-western Tuscany
- Maremma Livornese and Maremma Grossetana (the later coincident with the province of Grosseto
), and part of northern Lazio - Maremma Laziale (in the province of Viterbo
and Rome on the border of the region).
The poet Dante Alighieri
in his Divina Commedia places the Maremma between Cecina
and Corneto, the former name of Tarquinia
.
It was traditionally populated by the Butteri
, cattle-breeders who until recently used horses with a distinctive style of saddle. Once unhealthy because of its many marshes, the Maremma was drained during the fascist
regime and re-populated with people coming from other Italian regions, notably from Veneto
.
Endowed with significant natural and environmental resources, the Maremma is today one of the best tourist destinations in Italy, a region where ancient traditions have survived and Tuscan culture is preserved. It is being promoted as a destination for agritourism
.
In the Maremma region various popular wines are produced, some of which gained DOCG status.
The Maremma Grossetana can be divided into 5 main areas, each with its own characteristics and attractions.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea, consisting of part of south-western Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
- Maremma Livornese and Maremma Grossetana (the later coincident with the province of Grosseto
Province of Grosseto
The Province of Grosseto is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto.-Geography:It has an area of 4,504 km², and a total population of 227.498...
), and part of northern Lazio - Maremma Laziale (in the province of Viterbo
Province of Viterbo
The Province of Viterbo is a province in the Lazio region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Viterbo. It is bordered to the north by the Province of Grosseto and Siena, by the north-east with the Province of Terni and Rieti, in the west by the Tyrrhenian Sea and south by the Province of Rome.It...
and Rome on the border of the region).
The poet Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
in his Divina Commedia places the Maremma between Cecina
Cecina
Cecina may refer to:*Cecina, Tuscany, a town in the Italian Province of Livorno*Cecina , a river in Italy*Cecina , a Spanish and Mexican culinary specialty made of beef*Farinata, a Tuscan culinary specialty made of chickpea flour...
and Corneto, the former name of Tarquinia
Tarquinia
Tarquinia, formerly Corneto and in Antiquity Tarquinii, is an ancient city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Italy.- History :Tarquinii is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen...
.
- Non han sì aspri sterpi nè sì folti
- quelle fiere selvagge che 'n odio hanno
- tra Cecina e Corneto i luoghi colti.
It was traditionally populated by the Butteri
Buttero
A buttero is a shepherd or cowboy in the region of Maremma, in Tuscany in the Northern Latium and in the Pontine Marshes. The buttero habitually rides the horse typical of the Maremma, a Maremmano, and tends livestock, especially cattle and sheep. The characteristic saddle is called a bardella...
, cattle-breeders who until recently used horses with a distinctive style of saddle. Once unhealthy because of its many marshes, the Maremma was drained during the fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
regime and re-populated with people coming from other Italian regions, notably from Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
.
Endowed with significant natural and environmental resources, the Maremma is today one of the best tourist destinations in Italy, a region where ancient traditions have survived and Tuscan culture is preserved. It is being promoted as a destination for agritourism
Agritourism
Agritourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally-based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. Agritourism has different definitions in different parts of the world, and sometimes refers specifically to farm stays, as in Italy...
.
In the Maremma region various popular wines are produced, some of which gained DOCG status.
The Maremma Grossetana can be divided into 5 main areas, each with its own characteristics and attractions.
- Alta Maremma (Upper Maremma) is the northern part of the Maremma region, right on the border with the Province Siena. This area is characterised by the many picturesque hilltop villages (Pitigliano, Roccastrada, Roccatederighi, Sassofortino, Monte Massi, Massa Marittima, Cinigiano, Campagnatico, Pari), which remind of the hilltop towns of the Siena area.
- The heart of the Maremma http://www.casinadirosa.it/en/heartofmaremma.html. GrossetoGrossetoGrosseto is a city and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river....
can be considered the capital of the Maremma. The area around Grosseto and the coast, with Marina di GrossetoMarina di GrossetoMarina di Grosseto is a famous tourist destination located twelve kilometers from Grosseto; it is an important seaside resort in Grossetan Maremma...
, Castiglione della PescaiaCastiglione della PescaiaCastiglione della Pescaia is an ancient seaside town in the province of Grosseto , Italy. The modern city grew around a medieval fortress and a large fishery, from which it got its designation...
and the small villages that lie in the plain between the city and the coast, represents the heart of the Tuscan Maremma. - The hills of the Upper Maremma http://www.casinadirosa.it/en/areadeltufomaremma.html. The hills the Maremma can be divided into three areas: the area del Tufo (tufo is a volcanic rock found in the area that has been used for thousands of years in construction), the Colline MetallifereColline MetallifereThe Colline Metallifere are a mountain-hill groups in the Tuscan Antiapennine, in central Italy. The occupy the central-western part of Tuscany, divided between the provinces of Livorno, Pisa, Siena and Grosseto....
(literally, "the hills that produce metals") and the internal hills on the border with the Siena region. This is the heart of the Etruscan Empire (many would debate that the heart of the Etruscan Empire was actually in the Maremma Laziale, in an area also known as the Tuscia, where Tarquinia was "the chief of the twelve cities of Etruria"TarquiniaTarquiniaTarquinia, formerly Corneto and in Antiquity Tarquinii, is an ancient city in the province of Viterbo, Lazio, Italy.- History :Tarquinii is said to have been already a flourishing city when Demaratus of Corinth brought in Greek workmen...
). - On the shoreline of the Maremma sandy beaches alternate with rocky coastline. The long stretches of pine tree forests which border the beaches of the Maremma are a naturalistic treasure as well as the few areas where the lagoon and swamp ecosystems have survived urbanization, reclamation or simple draining, such as the nature reserve of the Diaccia Botrona near Castiglione della Pescaia.
- The metalliferous hills http://www.casinadirosa.it/en/collinemetalliferemaremma.html: The Colline Metallifere (literally, the metalliferous hills or the hills which produce metals) have always been the industrious heart of the Maremma and some places still point to times when the life on these hills was much harder. As their name says, the soil of these hills, which spread from the border with the province of Siena to the Gulf of FollonicaFollonicaFollonica is a town and comune of province of Grosseto in the Italian region of Tuscany, on the Gulf of Follonica , about 40 km NW of the city of Grosseto.-History:...
, is rich in minerals and mines have been excavated for centuries in search of iron, copper, lead, zinc, pyrites and silver. The main town is Massa MarittimaMassa MarittimaMassa Marittima is a town and comune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills...
.