Italian

Noun

1. A marshy coastal plain

For the breed of dog, see Maremma Sheepdog.

The Maremma is an area in Italy, consisting of part of southern Tuscany (and partly coincident with province of Grosseto area) and some part of northern Lazio (a bordering region of the province of Viterbo).

The poet Dante Alighieri in his Divina Commedia, identifies Maremma between Cecina and Corneto, the former name of Tarquinia.

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, cattle-breeders who used horses until recently, with a distinctive style of saddle. Once unhealthy because of the many marshes, Maremma was drained during the fascist regime and re-populated with people coming from other Italian regions, notably from Veneto.

Provided with significant natural and environmental resources, Maremma is today one of the best tourist destinations in Italy, where ancient traditions have survived and Tuscan culture is preserved. It is being promoted as a destination for agritourism.

The village Scansano lies within Maremma and is noted for Morellino di Scansano wine, which is vinted from Morellino grapes grown locally.

Montecucco and Monteregio are two other very popular D.O.C. wines produced in the Maremma.

The Maremma 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 interesting area is characterised by the many beautiful hilltop villages (Civitella Marittima, 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. Grosseto can be considered the capital of the Maremma. The area around Grosseto and the coast, with Marina di Grosseto, Castiglione della Pescaia 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 (literally, "the tuff area"), the Colline Metallifere (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.
• The coast, the beaches and the sea of the Tuscan Maremma http://www.casinadirosa.it/en/coastandbeachesofmaremma.html. Maremma includes 160 km of shoreline. The stretches of sandy and rocky coastline allow all sea lovers to find the perfect place for them. Moreover, the vast pine tree forests which border the beaches of the Maremma are a real naturalistic treasure and so are 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 Follonica, are 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 Marittima.

External links

• Maremma: a comprehensive guide to itineraries and things to do in the Tuscan Maremma
• Useful guide to sights of the Upper Maremma