The best cycling routes around Roccastrada

Castiglione della Pescaia is always beautiful to cycle through, and I never get tired of it!

The view of Castiglione della Pescaia from Ponte Giorgini offers one of the most iconic and photographed views of the Maremma of Livorno and Grosseto, suspended between the region's hydraulic history and the beauty of the medieval village. Looking from the bridge, you can admire a unique perspective that combines natural and historical elements: The canal-port: The Bruna river flows under the bridge, hosting pleasure boats and fishing vessels moored along the quays. The medieval village: In the background, the hill of the historic center stands out, dominated by the profile of the Aragonese castle and the medieval walls. The reflection on the water: At sunset, the lights of the town and the colors of the sky are reflected on the Bruna river, creating a particularly romantic and evocative atmosphere.

Tatti is an ancient and evocative Italian medieval village, part of the municipality of Massa Marittima, located in the province of Grosseto in Tuscany. Perched at about 412 meters above sea level on the Colline Metallifere, it overlooks the Tuscan Maremma and has a small community of about 200 inhabitants.

The Archaeological Museum is housed in the ancient Palazzo del Podestà (1225), which overlooks the Piazza del Duomo of Massa Marittima. The collection is organized into sections, ordered chronologically from the lower paleolithic to the etruscan age; the main piece of the prehistoric collection is the eneolithic statue-stele of Vado all’Arancio, the only find of its type in Maremma; the etruscan finds come mainly from excavations carried out at the village of Lago dell’Accesa, they are mainly kitchenware, loom weights, fishing weights and bricks; also present are the funerary trousseaux found in the necropolises, especially pottery (figulina clay and bucchero), bronze fibulae, iron pot stands, iron and bronze weapons. On the ground floor, an educational section is set up with a life-size reconstruction of typical caves: a paleolithic and an eneolithic one. Guided tours and educational activities, organization of cultural events and film screenings are available.

The castle is undoubtedly the best-known monument in the municipality of Roccastrada, if not of the Alta Maremma, due to its importance as a historical document (it is depicted in the famous fresco 'Guidoriccio da Fogliano at the siege of Montemassi' in the public palace of Siena attributed to Simone Martini) and for the high example of Gothic architecture it represents. The fortification, which crowns a hill 280 meters above the town, consists of remains of the two prominent building bodies; to the north is the Palazzo/Mastio with the base of the sloping wall with numerous windows with wide openings that indicate its residential rather than strictly military function, remains of a polygonal tower.

The perimeter walls are still partially visible, especially in the southern section, where an arched gate surmounted by three rounded stones stands. At the highest point of the hill stands the imposing stone keep, which extends around a courtyard. Within the walls is the church of Santa Maria Assunta, dating back to the 13th century but completely renovated in the late 19th century. It has a distinctive urban layout, dominated by an imposing stone keep arranged around a courtyard accessed through two round-arched gates, defended by a large tower with a massive base.

Massa Marittima is a fortified medieval village located on a hill, known for its beauty and wealth of artistic and architectural heritage. Key attractions include the magnificent Piazza Garibaldi, with the Cathedral of San Cerbone, the Palazzo del Podestà, and the Palazzo Comunale. Other points of interest include the Fonti dell'Abbondanza with its famous fresco of the Tree of Fertility and, in the upper town, the Torre del Candeliere and the Cassero Senese within the medieval walls.

The village is located south of Massa Marittima, along the road leading to Lago dell'Accesa. A typical mining village, it developed in the first half of the 19th century in connection with the exploitation of mineral resources. The urban layout of the settlement is therefore typical of mining villages, with the mine manager's villa in a dominant position, the workers' homes, the shop, the infirmary, the church, the school, and the cinema theater. Near the village, the visible remains of the structures used for mining activities are present, which retain considerable value from the perspective of industrial archaeology.