Castiglione della Pescaia is an Italian town of 7,148 inhabitants in the province of Grosseto in Tuscany. Located in the Maremma Grossetana, for the landscape qualities and the services offered, it is known for its seaside tourist vocation.
Before the opening of the Pisa-Vada railway, the center and its port had a period of prosperity and particular fame between the late eighteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries.
Territory
The municipal territory extends from the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, where it also includes the Isolotto dello Sparviero and the Scogli Porchetti, up to the south-western and southern offshoots of the range of hills which from Poggio Ballone reaches Poggio Petriccio and which forms the southern appendix of the Grosseto Metalliferous Hills. Between the coast and the hilly area there is a vast flat area of the Grosseto Maremma, partially affected by a marshy area, totally included in the Diaccia Botrona nature reserve. The coast is mainly low and sandy, with the exception of the small promontory of Punta Capezzolo, which divides the town of Castiglione della Pescaia from the locality of Riva del Sole, and for the entire area of the promontory of Punta Ala, both of which have high and rocky coasts.
The municipal territory borders to the north with the municipalities of Scarlino and Gavorrano, to the east and south-east with the municipality of Grosseto, while to the west and south it is bathed by the waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The seaside resorts extend around sea level or at slightly higher altitudes, while in the hinterland there are 184 meters above sea level. of Buriano, the 335 meters above sea level of Vetulonia, while higher altitudes are recorded in the hamlet of Tirli and its surroundings.
History and finds
The area in which the municipal territory of Castiglione della Pescaia extends has brought to light some prehistoric remains of the Upper Paleolithic, which were found in the western hilly area (Val Berretta) and on the eastern hilly offshoots between the Badiola farm, the locality of Ampio and the area south of the hamlet of Buriano.
From the Etruscan period the most splendid remains were found in the hamlet of Vetulonia, while other finds came to light in the western part of the municipal area between Val Beretta and Pian di Rocca, an area which was already inhabited in prehistoric times. The area in which the town of Castiglione della Pescaia stands was instead an important Roman settlement, given the archaeological remains found on the right bank of the Bruna river near the port-canal and the modern town, among which the remains of the Roman villa of Paduline stand out. Furthermore, the presence of a consular road and a paved road has been ascertained, the remains of which were lost during the 19th century, which from the Roman town headed respectively towards the Tombolo pine forest and towards Giuncarico.
Monuments and places of interest
•Church of San Giovanni Battista, located in the medieval historic center of the town, dates back to the 16th century, although a church dedicated to St. John the Baptist is mentioned in Castiglione from the 12th century. It was obtained from rooms used as a weapons storage to replace another building mentioned as early as 1051. At the end of the 19th century the bell tower was rebuilt, based on a project by Lorenzo Porciatti and in a neo-Gothic style with vaguely Moorish references. Inside are the relics of Saint William of Malavalle.
•Palazzo Centurioni, located in the historic center of the town in via dell’Ospedale, is an imposing mansion dating back to the Middle Ages which underwent some renovations in the early 20th century. In 2008 it underwent a series of restorations.
•Church of the Madonna del Giglio, built in 1773, although originally from the XIII century and incorporated in the southern part of the walls immediately under the clock tower, it was restored in 1812. Inside it preserves the eighteenth-century canvas of the Madonna del Giglio, copy of a fifteenth-century painting.
•Diaccia Botrona nature reserve, extends in area originally occupied by Lake Prile in the eastern part of the municipal territory. Among the Tuscan wetlands, SIR Diaccia Botrona is the one that hosts the largest number of wintering aquatic birds, moreover it has characteristic floristic populations with numerous rare hygrophilous species. The area is protected as an area of great importance for the rest, wintering and nesting of aquatic birds, in particular among the ICBP sites in recent years it has been the most important wetland in Tuscany for the wintering of ducks and of great importance also for the nesting of herons and Circus aeroginosus.
•Vetulonia, village of Etruscan origins, one of the main cities of southern Etruria, declined in the Roman imperial period until it disappeared completely in the early Middle Ages, when the locality became known as the column. In the 19th century, the archaeologist Isidoro Falchi unearthed the necropolis of the ancient city, and the original name of Vetulonia was reassigned to the village by royal decree of 22 July 1887.
•Giardino Return Journey of Rodolfo Lacquaniti (contemporary art): Rodolfo Lacquaniti, architect and artist, introduces himself to the audience with the languages of contemporary art: sculpture, installations, video-art, painting, performance, music, photography, words, gestures, live arts, poetry and offers a reflection on the consumer society.
The artist’s creative vision is realized through the reuse of objects, waste, which assembled together become universal art. Thus the artist presents his installation entitled The garbage revolution.
Rodolfo Lacquaniti has created an Artist’s Garden named Viaggio di Ritorno immersed in the greenery of the Maremma in Castiglione della Pescaia.