Massa Marittima has been inhabited since prehistoric times, with archaeological finds dating back to the Paleolithic and Bronze Age. It’s a beautiful town, nestled high in the mineral rich hills overlooking the surrounding valley. Mining copper, tin, lead, silver was the basis of its centuries of wealth and influence, peaking in the 13th and 14th centuries as a powerful free commune.

Subjugated by the Sienese and later the Medici, Massa was devastated by the plague at the end of the 14th century and suffered centuries of neglect except for the profitable mines, and was practically abandoned in the 1700’s after a terrible malaria outbreak before recovering. The 13th century Cathedral of San Cerbone in the extraordinary Piazza Garibaldi is one of the great sights of the Maremma, as is the Fonti dell’Abbondanza and its naughty fresco of the Tree of Fertility, discovered in 2000 during restoration of the square.