Travel To Follonica

It was here that the Grand-duke of Tuscany chose to locate the Monopolies of the imperial Foundries, taking full advantage of its position at the gulf's centre as a perfect landing place for the mines on the nearby island of Elba and at Massa Marittima. In addition, the dense forests provided the necessary wood for the foundries' furnaces.The town that was to become today's Follonica grew around these Medicean foundries, its name deriving from fulloni, the bellows of the original blast furnaces. It is tied to the art of casting, not only by its name, but by the many monuments constructed largely in iron. The most important of these is a unique work of art, the church of San Leopoldo, known as the "Cast Iron Church" (Chiesa della Ghisa). The building, recognized as a national monument, was constructed between 1836 and 1838 from a project by the architect Carlo Reishmmer. This was the first example of the integrated use of stone and cast iron. A completely new concept brought these two materials together in the construction of the vestibule, choir, pulpit, a part of the bell tower and the furnishings. The spectacular neoclassic main entrance to the "factory village" is also made in cast iron. it was this area around the grand-ducal foundries that became the embryo of the city. Follonica's master founders cast thousands of pieces, recreating classical motifs to build a structure of high technological skill. But the city is more than its foundries. Its location and the industrious imagination of its population have also produced a thriving tourist trade with qualified services that make it possible to enjoy the area's varied and rich natural surroundings.