Castiglione della Pescaia
Castiglione della Pescaia is a fabulous coastal town in the Maremma, one of the main summer tourist destinations in the area. It is located just 22 km from the provincial capital of Grosseto and is famous for its clean beaches awarded 5 sails awarded by Legambiente together with the Touring Club, while the historic center is part of the exclusive club of the most beautiful villages in Italy. Castiglione delle Pescaia is nicknamed “the Switzerland of the Maremma” due to its picturesque pastel-colored buildings and structure that seem to mimic an authentic Swiss village.
The locality is the home of local seaside tourism. Along its fabulous beaches, there are beautiful tourist villages, luxury hotels, spas, residences, but also restaurants, pizzerias, tennis courts and equipped beaches.
The ancient history of Castiglione della Pescaia makes it a place rich in archaeological itineraries: there are traces of life that date back to the Upper Paleolithic period, but it is mainly some discoveries dating back to the Etruscan period that most capture the interest. Castiglione still retains the indelible traces of its past as a Roman settlement as can be seen by visiting the Roman villa of Paduline. It is a luxurious structure built close to the Bruna river around the 3rd century BC and can still be visited today. Furthermore, thanks to careful excavations, mosaics and frescoes have been recovered and are now exhibited in the Maremma archaeological museums.
What to see
The meeting place of Castiglione della Pescaia is Corso della Libertà, an avenue with a beautiful view of the port where you can shop until late or dine in traditional taverns and pizzerias. From here, you can also access the historic center of the town full of monuments and buildings to visit. The first we want to point out is the Aragonese castle of Castiglione. Documented for the first time in 1163, the building stands on an even more ancient fort, but its current structure owes it to the king of Naples Alfonso of Aragon who in 1447 raised the two towers and added two floors to the building, giving it the robe of a real castle. Nearby is the church of San Giovanni Battista whose bell tower stands out on the skyline of the city.
Another memorable place of this locality is located in the surroundings of Castiglione della Pescaia we are talking about the Diaccia Botrona nature reserve. This swamp is what remains of what was Lake Prilius in Etruscan times, today an area where many animals find refuge including pink flamingos and ospreys. Inside the park is Casa Ximenes, a red building where Leonardo Ximenes lived, a monk and scholar commissioned by the Grand Duke Leopold in 1765 to free the Maremma from malaria. Today this house has been transformed into an observatory and inside there is an exhibition on traditional hunting and fishing in wetlands.