Castiglione della Pescaia: the medieval port village where a canal divides the Maremma from the sea

The village of Castiglione della Pescaia, perched above its canal-port, has roots going back to the Pisan period (from the 10th century onward), but its era of greatest commercial splendour came between the late 1700s and mid-1800s, when the port went through a period of great prosperity. The canal that still splits the modern town in two, with the late-18th-century Casa Idraulica regulating its flow, is the most visible trace of that water-bound history.

East of the centre stretches the Pineta del Tombolo, a pine forest covering the entire sandy barrier along the coast, formed over the centuries as the sea retreated. Inland, the Etruscan remains at Vetulonia tell a far older story, while the Diaccia Botrona reserve preserves what's left of the Maremma marshland before the great land reclamations.

Among the buildings worth noting in the village is the Casa Rossa Ximenes, an 18th-century structure tied to water management, and the church of San Giovanni Battista. The castle and fortified centre remain the village's heart, with alleys climbing toward the top and looking out over the harbour below.

It's one of the busiest coastal towns in the Maremma during summer, thanks to its marina and nearby beaches: for a quieter visit, aim for spring or early autumn.

Getting there

Castiglione della Pescaia lies on the coast of Grosseto province, reachable by car via the Via Aurelia; the nearest railway station is Grosseto, on the Tyrrhenian line.