Montemerano is a fraction of the Italian municipality of Manciano, in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany and since 2014 it has been part of the most beautiful villages in Italy.
In the area there have been archaeological finds which testify to the presence of residential areas dating back to the Neolithic period and Roman times. The place is also mentioned in documents dating back to the 9th century.
The characteristic medieval village was built during the XIII century by the Aldobrandeschi family on the highest part of the hill. In the fourteenth century the control of the town passed to the Baschi family, who led it to submit to Orvieto. During the 15th century Siena took possession of Montemerano and transformed it into an imposing fortress.
In the second half of the 16th century, with the definitive fall of the Republic of Siena, the center became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, following its fate from that moment on.
The municipal art history library is located in Montemerano: it is a specialized public library that contains over 10,000 volumes of art history. It was inaugurated on 1 November 2012 thanks to the donation to the Municipality of Manciano of a fund of about 6,500 volumes by the historian and art critic Marilena Pasquali.
Monuments
Church of San Giorgio, the parish church of the hamlet, was built during the 14th century by will of the Basque counts and enlarged with the addition of the transept and apse around 1430. Over the following centuries some interventions have been carried out both inside and on the facade, while a series of restorations carried out since 1980 have allowed the religious building to be brought back to its original appearance. Inside there are works of great value, including the fifteenth-century Madonna enthroned with Child and saints by Sano di Pietro and the famous Madonna della Gattaiola, the work of an artist known as Maestro di Montemerano.
Pieve di San Lorenzo, this is the oldest church in the village, mentioned in a bull dated 1188. Deconsecrated over the centuries, it is used as a theater space for cultural events. The characteristic tower of San Lorenzo stands out on the building, originally used as a bell tower.
Church of the Madonna del Cavalluzzo, located just outside the historic centre, was built as a rural chapel in the 15th century, but underwent 17th-century renovations which affected the facade and the floor. Inside it preserves a Madonna with Child and Saint Rocco and some frescoes dating back to the years between the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century.
Walls of Montemerano: built by the Aldobrandeschi starting from the XII century, they were completed during the following century. Restructuring works were carried out when Montemerano passed under the Republic of Siena, with the construction also of the Cassero complex, and in the Renaissance period, with the construction of the patrol walkways. Three gates open along the walls, the gate of San Giorgio, the Roman gate and the Grossetana gate.
Piazza del Castello, a scenic square intact in its medieval layout and stone houses. Its threshold is made up of an arch which opens at the end of a short steeply uphill street.