Massa Marittima

Massa Marittima
—  Comune  —
Comune di Massa Marittima
Coat of arms
Massa Marittima Location of Massa Marittima in Italy
Coordinates: 43°03′00″N 10°53′37″E / 43.05°N 10.89361°E / 43.05; 10.89361
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Grosseto (GR)
Frazioni	Prata, Tatti, Niccioleta, Valpiana
Government
– Mayor	Lidia Bai (since June 2004)
Area
– Total	283.73 km2 (109.5 sq mi)
Elevation	380 m (1,247 ft)
Population (3 December 2009)
– Total	8,820
– Density	31.1/km2 (80.5/sq mi)
Demonym	Massetani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
– Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	58024
Dialing code	0566
Patron saint	Saint Cerbonius
Saint day	October 10
Website	Official website

Massa Marittima Cathedral

Massa Marittima is a town and comune of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto.

There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, ironworks and olive-oil mills. At Follonica, on the coast, are the furnaces in which are smelted the iron ore of Elba.

History

The town appeared in the early Middle Ages, the bishopric seat of Populonia being moved here around 1000 AD. After the initial domination of the Republic of Pisa, it became an independent commune in the 13th century.

In the following century it was conquered by Siena, to which it belonged until it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the mid-16th century.

Main sights

• The 13th century cathedral (13th century). The church is in Romanesque-Pisane style, and is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles divided by cruciform pilasters and cylindrical columns. The central portal has lion sculptures and five panels with stories of Saint Cerbonius, to whom the cathedral is dedicated. The rose window has a rare 14th century glass with the Redeemer in Glory and Histories of St. Cerbonius. The interior is home to a Romanesque font (1267 with a cover of 1447), a Gothic reliquary (1324) of Saint Cerbonius, a Maestà attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna (1316) and 14th century fresco under which is a Roman sarcophagus from the 4th century AD.
• The battlemented Palazzo Pretorio. It houses the Archaeological Museum, containing a work by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.
• The Cassero Senese (Sienese Fortress), built in the 13th–14th centuries.
• Monteregio Castle, built by the Aldobrandeschi in the 9th century, later used as the bishops' residence.
• Church of St. Francis, founded, according to the tradition, by the saint himself in Gothic style. It houses an Assumption by Raffaello Vanni.
• Church of St. Augustine (14th century), with a Renaissance cloister.
• Palazzo del Podestà.
• Palazzo delle Armi, in Renaissance style.
• Church of San Rocco (15th century).
• Native house of San Bernardino da Siena.

In the frazione of Prata are a medieval castle with two towers and the Pieve of Santa Maria Assunta. The walled borough ot Tatti includes the medieval church of San Sebastiano and another Cassero.

Massa Marittima

Notable people

Massa Marittima was the birthplace, in 1380, of San Bernardino da Siena.

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• Tecnological and Archaeological Park of Colline Metallifere Grossetane
• Walking in Massa Marittima
• Massa Marittima art pictures
• Massa Marittima in Tuscany: accommodations, vacation rentals, architecture, food, wine (English)