Journey through the Maremma... unusual Tuscany...
It all started with the suggestion of my Italian friends to visit the Maremma, an unfamiliar area of Tuscany for us, despite the fact that we live in Florence. The territory of the Maremma, from the Italian "Marittima" (marine, on the sea), is 5 thousand square meters, which runs from Tuscany to Lazio. The territory is famous for its winemaking, the purity of the sea, many beautiful parks and protected areas, Medieval towns with their centuries-old traditions.
The journey began with a move from Florence, the “capital” of Tuscany, to Grosseto, the “capital” of Maremma, with its good road communications and the Airport, which, by the way, has been accepting charter flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov since last year. Arriving in Grosseto, we stayed at the Grand Hotel Bastiani, a historic Liberty style hotel located in the city center, close to all attractions.
After lunch at a restaurant next to the hotel, we walked to the Cathedral of San Lorenzo (Cattedrale di San Lorenzo), a beautiful cathedral with its frills built in the Gothic style by the architect Sozzo Rustichini, then along the main Dante square (piazza Dante), on which stands the Aldobrandeschi palace (Palazzo Aldobrandeschi - the ruling family in the Middle Ages), now the building of the district administration of Grosseto, and walked along the walls that surround the entire city center. Toward evening, tired, on the way to the hotel we stopped at a restaurant where they serve the traditional Maremma dish Chianina steak (Bistecca Chianina) - the meat of a “white cow”, which is bred only in Tuscany, under the excellent red wine Morellino di Scansano (Morellino di scansano).
The next morning, after consulting with the friendly staff of the hotel, we visited the nearby cities. Pitigliano, a city on the rocky Tufo (group of rocks), where the underground labyrinths of the Etruscans are located, in which, today, the wines of di Pitigliano are stored.
Also, don't miss the opportunity to see the medieval palaces of the Orsini family (Orsini) and the castles of the Medici family (Medici) of the late 1600s. After tasting the white wine di Pitigliano (Bianco di Pitigliano), we stopped by the town of Sovana, also built of Tufo stone, where ancient cities are excavated and there are medieval fortresses of the same Aldobrandeschi family. Weary, we returned to Bastiani, where we were cheered up by the cheerful and friendly director of the hotel, Massimiliano.
Having slept enough, we spent almost the whole day in the Maremma National Park, which is located on the sea and opens up a world of untouched nature and beauty. The territory of the reserve is 25 km, it is possible to ride bicycles, canoes, horses, which we took advantage of. After dinner at a fish restaurant in Marina di Grosseto, the evening moved smoothly to the famous club in Poggio d'Oro (Poggio D'oro)......
The next day, having checked out of this memorable hotel, since Grosseto is only 12 km from the sea, we made a mini-cruise through the Tuscan archipelago, dropping into the islands of Giglio (Giglio), Giannaturi (Giannaturi), famous for their underwater world, as among lovers and among professional divers. When moving between the islands, lunch is offered - fresh fish, seafood, which by the way is included in the price of the cruise. Satisfied and full, on the way home to Florence, we stopped by the sea town of Castiglione della Pescaia, and decided that we would definitely return here, as it is amazingly beautiful there! And it looks like a lot of fun?
