Grosetto, Mareema & south

Tuscany's wilder south

The Maremma is the southern corner of Tuscany, stretching from the coast around Grosseto down towards the border with Lazio. It feels quite different from the Chianti hills: wide open farmland, pine woods along the shore, cork oaks, rolling hills and a slower pace. Long-horned Maremmana cattle still graze here, watched over by the butteri, the local horsemen.

Grosseto, the provincial capital, has a compact, lively centre inside its six-sided Medici walls. It makes a useful base for exploring both the coast and the hill towns inland.

Beaches, islands and nature reserves

The coast is one of the least developed in Tuscany. The Maremma Regional Park protects hills, marshes and the beach of Marina di Alberese, where pine woods run down to the sand. Castiglione della Pescaia has a fishing harbour, a castle and a long beach popular with families.

Further south, Monte Argentario is a near-island linked to the mainland by two sandbars and the causeway at Orbetello, whose lagoon draws flamingos and other birds. Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano are lively harbour towns, and ferries run from Porto Santo Stefano to the island of Giglio. Near Capalbio, the Tarot Garden is a sculpture park of huge, colourful figures created by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle.

Tufa towns, hot springs and wine

Inland, Pitigliano rises straight out of a cliff of volcanic tufa, with neighbouring Sovana and Sorano close by and Etruscan sunken roads cut deep into the rock between them. At Saturnia, warm sulphur water tumbles over the terraces of the Cascate del Mulino, free to bathe in all year.

The local red is Morellino di Scansano, made mainly from Sangiovese, and Pitigliano produces its own white. Try acquacotta, the Maremma's traditional vegetable soup, along with wild boar and pasta with game sauces.

For the south of the Maremma, Rome's Fiumicino airport is usually the nearest, while Pisa and Florence suit the northern part. Late spring and September are ideal, with warm seas and quieter roads. Discover more of Tuscany, or browse the villas listed below to find your base in the Maremma.