The Territory
We are in the Maremma (from Spanish "marisma" - swamp), the southern part of Tuscany, an
ancient land, rich and fertile in Etruscan and Roman ages. After the fall of the Roman empire a
gradual decline eventually turned the land to marshes. It was known as "Maremma Amara" (Harsh Maremma): a vast stretch of swampland almost inhabited, a land "burned by the fever and the sun".
The Maremma's rebirth is recent history: the reclaim of these lands started in the 19th century, with the Lorena family, and malaria finally disappeared as the repopulation began.
This peculiar historical path miraculously preserved Maremma to this day: a unique fresco
counterpointed by extraordinary natural beauties and precious ruins of a millennial history.

Follonica
The gulf of Follonica is situated in the northern part of the Maremma coast. Beautifully fringed by a gorgeous pine forest that stretches till the beach, Follonica, of Etruscan origins, became a town
only in the 19th century thanks to the Royal and Imperial Foundries of Leopold II, specialized in the processing of iron and its derivatives (especially cast iron), which became the second most
important ones in Europe. Those foundries were closed at the beginning of the 60s but the
historical iron and steel vocation is witnessed by some precious monuments made of cast iron
(such as the church of Saint Leopold or the entrance gate to the Foundries) and by "Magma", the
Maremma Multimedia Museum of Cast Iron Arts.
Today Follonica is a modern seaside town on the clear waters of the Tirreno sea. For the 17th time in a row this year the town was awarded the Bandiera Blu delle spiagge (Blue Flag of Beaches) which certifies the quality of the bathing waters and the correct environmental managing of the territory.