Surroundings
Villages or Cities of Art... Small and great scenes of our history
Walking through small medieval towns or the most famous cities in the world, thinking that those same routes were taken by our ancestors many many centuries ago... You wonder if time has stopped and when you stop to look at the views of each place, you think: Here is the Bel Paese!
Campiglia Marittima
21 min by car - 13 km
Campiglia Marittima is a town in the province of Livorno. It is one of the most beautiful villages of the Etruscan Coast.
There are several places of interest:
- The Palazzo Pretorio, located in the heart of the historic centre, which bears witness to Campiglia's dependence on Florence and Pisa
- The Rocca di Campiglia and the Rocca Museum
- Rocca San Silvestro and the archaeo-mineral park
- The gates of the city walls
- The Museum of Sacred Art
- Numerous religious architectures
Baratti e Populonia
30 min by car - 23 km
Baratti and Populonia are fractions of the municipality of Piombino, in the province of Livorno. Baratti lies on the Tyrrhenian coast, on the slopes of Populonia, which is part of the district Populonia-Fiorentina.
Populonia was an ancient Etruscan settlement, named Fufluna (from Fufluns, the Etruscan god of wine and drunkenness) or Pupluna, the only Etruscan city that arose along the coast. It was one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan Dodecapolis.
Baratti also has Etruscan origins, and near the town there are some burial mounds that bear witness to the colonisation of this civilisation.
San Vincenzo
30 min by car - 23 km
San Vincenzo is a municipality in the province of Livorno located in the Maremma Livornese, bordered to the north by the municipality of Castagneto Carducci and south by the coastal park of Rimigliano and the town of Piombino.
Today it is one of the best-equipped seaside resorts in continental Tuscany, the tourist capital of the Val di Cornia and one of the busiest towns on the Etruscan Coast. In recent decades there has been a boom in the construction sector, and many new buildings have sprung up. The town's tourist port is one of the most important in the area.
Follonica
34 min by car - 28,5 km
Follonica is located in the province of Grosseto, in the territory of the Colline Metallifere Grossetane (Grosseto's Metalliferous Hills), in the centre of the gulf of the same name.
Since 2000, and for each year thereafter, Follonica has been awarded the European Blue Flag, which certifies the high quality of its waters and coastline, the efficiency of its services and safety measures, and its high level of environmental education.
In 2001, 2002 and 2003, it won the 3 sails of Legambiente. From 2004 onwards, Follonica was awarded 4 Legambiente sails, making it one of Italy's top tourist destinations.
Massa Marittima
37 min by car - 35,4 km
The centre of Massa Marittima is situated on the Colline Metallifere (Metal-bearing Hills). As a tourist resort in the Maremma it has received important awards for its environmental quality.
There are numerous works of art in the town and the ancient trades, mainly related to mining, are promoted here.
Massa Marittima has very ancient origins and the mineral wealth of the surrounding area was already being exploited in Etruscan times.
Castagneto Carducci
38 min by car - 29 km
Carducci is a municipality in the province of Livorno.
It is a small and charming village on the top of the hill, dominated by the Castle of the Conti della Gherardesca. In ancient times it was surrounded by walls, the front of which still survives, facing the sea. Near the church of San Lorenzo, there is the original nucleus of the town.
The urban centre developed around the medieval castle according to a pattern of concentric rings that create a system of streets, alleys and small squares.
Campiglia Marittima
46 min by car - 46,6 km
Bolgheri is a hamlet of Castagneto Carducci. The characteristic village developed around the medieval castle that stands on a hill that can be reached through the charming Viale dei Cipressi, a road almost 5 km long that begins on the Via Aurelia, in front of the eighteenth-century Oratory of San Guido. The place was made famous by the verses of Giosuè Carducci in his poem Davanti San Guido (1874). Inside the village is the monumental cemetery where the poet's grandmother was buried. Not far from the inhabited centre, on a rise almost 400 metres above sea level, is the ancient fortified centre of Castiglioncello di Bolgheri, with the church of San Bernardo.
Volterra
1 hour e 13 min by car - 65,7 km
Volterra is a walled town south-west of Florence and in the province of Pisa. Famous for the extraction and working of alabaster, it was one of the main city-states of ancient Tuscany (Etruria). In the Middle Ages it was the seat of an important episcopal lordship. It retains a historic centre of Etruscan origin, with Roman ruins and medieval buildings. Volterra is a candidate for the title of Italian Capital of Culture 2022 and has been designated one of the ten finalist cities.
There are several places to visit:
- The Duomo
- The Palazzo dei Priori
- The Medici Fortress
- The Porta All'Arco
- The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum
- The Guarnacci Etruscan Museum
Pisa
1 hour e 24 min by car - 112 km
Pisa is best known for its famous leaning tower. It was already off its axis when it was completed in 1372. The 56-metre-high white marble cylinder is none other than the bell tower of the marble Romanesque cathedral next door in Piazza dei Miracoli.
The same square is home to the monumental Camposanto (Cemetery) and Baptistery, where non-professional singers test their skills every day with its famous acoustics.
Siena
1 hour e 42 min by car - 133 km
Siena, capital of the province of the same name, is universally known for its considerable historical, artistic, cultural and landscape heritage and for its substantial stylistic unity of the medieval street furniture, as well as for the famous Palio.
In 1995 its historic centre was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The city is home to the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, which was founded in 1472 and is therefore the oldest bank in operation and the longest-lived in the world.
Firenze
2 hours e 15 min by car - 163 km
In the Middle Ages it was an important cultural, commercial, economic and financial centre. In modern times it was the capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
An important university centre and UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance and is universally recognised as one of the cradles of art and architecture, as well as being renowned as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, thanks to its many monuments and museums - including the Duomo, Santa Croce, the Uffizi, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Pitti.
Isola D’Elba
1 hour by ferry and 36 minutes by car
The island of Elba is an island situated between the Piombino Channel to the east, the Tyrrhenian Sea to the south and the Corsica Channel to the west. It is the largest of the islands of the Tuscan archipelago, and the third largest in Italy (223 km²). Elba, together with the other islands of the archipelago, is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. Here, nature reigns supreme.
The island of Elba encapsulates the charm and beauty of an area rich in history, civilisation and nature.
Tourism is developed mainly in the summer months and is mountain, cycling, diving and bathing.
