Castiglione della Pescaia: perla della Maremma

Castiglione della Pescaia: a pearl of the Tuscan Maremma, where every stone tells a story and every corner promises enduring magic.

1 / 4 – Castiglione della Pescaia: a unique microcosm of beauty

What we talk about in this article:

Castiglione della Pescaia: The Great History That Never Ends
What to see in Castiglione della Pescaia
The Diaccia Botrona Nature Reserve and the Casa Rossa Ximenes Museum
From the village beaches to Cala Violina
Events in Castiglione

Castiglione della Pescaia is probably the most beautiful medieval village directly overlooking the Tuscan coast. A place full of great history and stories to tell, surrounded by fascinating nature, largely uncontaminated, like that of the Maremma. Destination of a elite tourism, but not at all snobbish, Castiglione offers great historical suggestions, naturalistic and nightlife, so much so that its inhabitants triple in the summer months. Almost a absolute record, only surpassed, it goes without saying, by Florence, the regional capital.

If we then take into account that for 23 years Castiglione (as it is affectionately called by its inhabitants) strings together an uninterrupted sequence of “Blue Flags” – a coveted recognition that rewards beaches and seas that stand out for their environmental excellence and care of the urban and marine landscape –, and that both in 2021 and 2022 the Tuscan Maremma (this area in particular) has been awarded the very prestigious 5 Sails from Legambiente and Touring Club, even reaching the top of the entire national territory, well, you can understand the reason why this charming seaside village has transformed over the years into an increasingly popular destination for holidaymakers of all races and nationalities.

Castiglione della Pescaia al tramonto con l'Isola d'Elba in lontananza

Castiglione della Pescaia: The Great History That Never Ends

It all starts in 3rd century BC, at the time of the Etruscans, when in this place there was a salty but healthy lake, the Lake Prelius, along whose banks the first urban settlements arose, Roselle and Vetulonia, today hamlets of Castiglione della Pescaia. So much so that right in Vetulonia there is an important archaeological site, a very ancient trace of the Etruscan era.

Where Castiglione della Pescaia now stands, once stood Salebrum, a small port which, later, in Roman times, became a small village that functioned as a rest stop along the Via Aurelia. From a quote from Pliny and from a letter from Guide we know he was famous for the excellent weather conditions and for theabundance of gameDuring the reclamation works of the marsh in 1880, the remains of the Roman oppidum, archaeological finds dating back to the 1st and 2nd century AD.

Continue discovering the history of Castiglione and the things to see in the village on page 2.