The splendid village of Massa Marittima

Massa Marittima is a beautiful town full of interesting medieval art. Probably of Etruscan origin, the town preserves many monuments of its most flourishing period, which can be made to begin in the mid-ninth century when the bishop settled there, until then resident in Populonia.the period of maximum splendor of the city is still that between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, when Massa Marittima thanks to the wealth of silver mines, copper and pyrite present in the nearby Metalliferous Hills (interesting Historical Museum of the Mine), also exploited by the Etruscans, became a Free City (1225). The town, which is 380 metres above sea level, is divided into two parts, the lower part (or old town) where the Romanesque style predominates and the upper part (or new town, but dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries). The visit can start from Piazzale Mazzini, where there is a convenient parking fee, here is the Palazzo dell'Abbondanza (1265) characterized by three pointed arches, it was the grain warehouse of the city, below is the public fountain where recently was brought to light a fresco of which they had lost track.