Places of Ancient Culture

Le Moraiole Country House is located at the center of an artistic and cultural paradise full of ancient treasures to explore and learn.

Close to our estate is the medieval town of Massa Marittima (10 km). It is one of the urban and architectural complex of the Gothic period XII-XIV century and one of the most important of Tuscan and Italian history. Here you can visit one of the most beautiful square: the impressive cathedral of San Cerbone, the Palazzo del Podesta (the seat of the archaeological museum), the Town Hall, the Loggia del Mercato and near also the Mint and the Public Fountain of Abundance, famous for the tree of fertility fresco unearthed in 1999.

Heading west and the sea you can reach Suvereto (10 km), a small medieval village where you can admire the sea and the Etruscan Coast, enclosed by walls a pentagonal shaped punctuated by eight towers. You can visit: The Town Hall dating back to 1200, the Cloister of St. Francis, where every year there are concerts, shows and historical re-enactments, and the Church of San Giusto which is inserted between the walls and the main gateway to the country.

Along a few km to the south you can reach the center of Castiglione della Pescaia (45 km), one of the most attractive seaside resorts in the Maremma. The medieval village is enclosed by a wall with eleven towers, three portals and a castle dating from the XV century.

If you decide to head east you can reach the City of Chiusdino and visit the Cistercian Abbey of San Galgano (45 km from Siena). The great abbey in Gothic style, now reduced to only walls, it is an imposing and isolated structure that connects with the nature that surrounds it.

A few hundred meters on a hill stands the hermitage of Montesiepi where the “Sword in the Stone” is kept that is said to have been stuck in the Stone Galgano Guidotti. The similarities with the story of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and the quest for the Grail are numerous in the stories that surround San Galgano, making it a striking and place full of mysteries.

Lovers of history and archeology will be able to visit the archeological sites of Populonia (29 km to the Gulf of Baratti) and Vetulonia (40 km on the mountains overlooking Castiglione), with some of the largest and well-preserved Etruscan necropolis, and the area of the archeological excavations of Roselle (60 km) where you can admire the remains of the ancient Etruscan walls, the Roman amphitheater, the Domus of mosaics and early Christian basilica built on the ruins of the Roman baths.

With a little more time available we recommend visiting the most important cities of Tuscany such as Florence, Siena, Pisa and Lucca. If you want to stay out of the bustle of the city, it plans to visit some of the most beautiful towns in Italy as Pitigliano (130 km), Volterra (60 km) and San Gimignano (90 km), or small historic towns less known but great charm such as Scarlino (25 km), Burano (50 km) and Murlo (70 km).

For those who want a cultural and particular experience we suggest a visit to the medieval village of Gavorrano (30 km) and one of the largest mines in the Maremma. Just below the village is a huge open pit mining as a result of redevelopment and the creation of Naturalistic Mining Park of Gavorrano.