Manciano is a lovely medieval town just north of Capalbio with an extraordinary history of war, resistance, civil unrest, and bravery. The coat of arms is a golden lion holding a red shield, which is appropriate, and the town and it’s populace were awarded the War Cross for military valor by the Italian state for its fierce resistance against the Nazis and fascists during World War Two and the ruthless retribution they suffered undeterred.

This resistance and fortitude is evident throughout it’s history; first settled in the Bronze Age, the castle fortress built in 1188, owned by the Aldobrandeschi then ceded to Sovana, conquered in the 14th century by Orvieto, then Montemerano, then the Orsini family. But that wasn’t it: Siena took it in 1416, had to give it back to the Orsini in 1455, who managed to keep it for all of two years before the Medici took it. And the population struggled through it all. And survived.