Travel To Massa Marittima

It is a jewel case where everything has retained the harmonious proportions of an old city of art, a summation of its important monuments, the Torre del Candeliere, the Fortezza dei Senesi, the Palazzo dell'Abbondanza and the Fonti dell'Abbondanza with a fresco from 1265. The narrow streets and historic centre abound in fountains, loggias and homes of notable personages dating from the middle ages. The streets of Massa Marittima display a veritable collection of extraordinary and unforgettable Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance architecture.Above all, there is the Piazza del Duomo, the heart and soul of the city. Here, religious and civil chitecture coexist without rivalry, the Duomo and the Episcopate on one ride and the Palaces of the Podestà and the Town Hall obliquely opposite, not face to face as in other medieval squares. This free city flourished thanks to its copper andsilver mines and displayed its prestige by coining its own money "the Grosso massetano" with the image of Saint Cerbone, the patron saint of the city to whom the Cathedral is dedicated. Important artists of the 14th century were commissioned to execute such works for the Cathedral as the famous tomb of Saint Cerbone by Goro di Gregorio, the polychrome wooden crucifix by Giovanni Pisano and the masterpiece depicting the Madonna of Grace attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna. The smaller centres of Prata and Tatti hold the same fascination. These two small villages have kept their medieval appearance as have Valpiana, Niccioleta and Fenice Capanne which have also maintained the urban strutture typical of mining towns.