Where is the Maremma in Tuscany?

The wild south, running from Grosseto down to the Lazio border, with the Argentario peninsula on the coast and the Monte Amiata massif inland. It is the least Tuscan-feeling part of Tuscany, in the best way.

Coast or inland in the Maremma?

Coast for sea-every-day summers and the cooler breeze in July and August; inland for riding, the Etruscan tufa cities and a quieter, emptier rhythm in the shoulder seasons.

Can guests ride out with the butteri?

Yes, at several of our working farms. The butteri are the Maremma's mounted herdsmen, an active profession rather than a tourist act, and some let guests ride out at dawn.

Which airport is best for the Maremma?

Rome Fiumicino is the natural choice, ninety minutes from the southern Maremma. Florence is two and a half hours and rarely worth the extra driving.

When is the best time to visit the Maremma?

June and September are ideal. May is quiet and reliable; October can still swim in a good year. July and August are coastal-only, as the interior regularly passes 35 degrees.

Is the Maremma good for a first trip to Tuscany?

Usually not first. It is the next layer, the region we suggest once guests have done Chianti and the Val d'Orcia and want something wilder.

Exclusive Tuscany

Est. MMXXV

TuscanySub-region

Maremma, Tuscany.

1 villa in the collection

On Maremma

Field notes,
from the founders.

The Maremma is Tuscany's wild south, the long inland plain that runs from Grosseto down to the Lazio border, with the Argentario peninsula thrust into the Tyrrhenian and the Monte Amiata massif inland. It is the least Tuscan-feeling part of Tuscany: lower, hotter, drier, with cattle country instead of vineyards and Etruscan tombs instead of Renaissance towns. We send guests here when they have done the rest and are ready for the next layer.

Cowboys still work the cattle here. The butteri, the original mounted herdsmen of the Italian peninsula, often described as the only European equivalent of the American cowboy, are not a tourist artefact; they are an active profession in the Maremma, and several of the working farms we represent let guests ride out with them at dawn. The cattle are the local Maremmana breed, white, horned and almost extinct fifty years ago.

Where to Stay in the Maremma

The Maremma splits into coast and interior, and the two make very different weeks. The coastal strip, from the Parco dell'Uccellina down to the Argentario, is for sea-every-day summers; our Coastal Retreat villas here sit within fifteen minutes of a beach or a cove. The interior, around the tufa cities and the cattle country, is wilder, hotter and emptier, the choice for riding, Etruscan sites and a quieter rhythm.

Most guests lean coastal in July and August for the breeze, and inland in the shoulder seasons for the space. We place you by which Maremma you are actually after.

The Coast and the Beaches

The coast runs from the protected wilderness of the Parco dell'Uccellina, where there are no cars and you walk in, to the developed glamour of Porto Ercole on the Argentario, where the Pellicano hotel set the small-luxury template Italy still works to. In between sit Capalbio, the Roman intellectual class's summer town; the long sand at Marina di Alberese; and the quiet swimming coves at Cala Violina. It is a coast of coves and pine forest rather than resort promenades, which is exactly its appeal.

The Tufa Cities, and the Table

Inland, the tufa-rock cities of Pitigliano, Sorano and Sovana, built into vertical cliffs above their ravines and lit yellow at sunset, are an hour from any inland Maremma villa and worth two evenings. Pitigliano's old Jewish quarter, La Piccola Gerusalemme, is the surprise of the southern Maremma.

The food gets darker and bolder here: wild boar ragù, more bitter greens, the Morellino di Scansano red. Less polish than further north, more flavour. This is the Tuscany guests come to once they have done the rest.

When to come

June and September are ideal. May is reliable and quiet; October is warm enough to swim in a good year. July and August are coastal-only, inland temperatures regularly hit 35°C.

Towns worth knowing

Capalbio: The Roman intellectuals' summer town; restaurants serious, no parking past June.
Porto Ercole: On the Argentario; small luxury, the harbour-front, Pellicano nearby.
Pitigliano: Tufa rock cliff city; the Jewish quarter is the surprise.
Sovana: Etruscan necropolis at the edge of town. One street, one good restaurant.
Castiglione della Pescaia: The serious swimming town; long beach, fishing port.

Best for

Second or third trips to Tuscany
Coastal-leaning weeks in July and August
Riding holidays with the butteri
Travellers who want fewer crowds than Chianti or Val d'Orcia

Practicalities

Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is the natural airport. Capalbio is ninety minutes south. Florence is two and a half hours and not worth the extra driving for most Maremma villas.

Frequently asked

Where is the Maremma in Tuscany?: The wild south, running from Grosseto down to the Lazio border, with the Argentario peninsula on the coast and the Monte Amiata massif inland. It is the least Tuscan-feeling part of Tuscany, in the best way.
Coast or inland in the Maremma?: Coast for sea-every-day summers and the cooler breeze in July and August; inland for riding, the Etruscan tufa cities and a quieter, emptier rhythm in the shoulder seasons.
Can guests ride out with the butteri?: Yes, at several of our working farms. The butteri are the Maremma's mounted herdsmen, an active profession rather than a tourist act, and some let guests ride out at dawn.
Which airport is best for the Maremma?: Rome Fiumicino is the natural choice, ninety minutes from the southern Maremma. Florence is two and a half hours and rarely worth the extra driving.
When is the best time to visit the Maremma?: June and September are ideal. May is quiet and reliable; October can still swim in a good year. July and August are coastal-only, as the interior regularly passes 35 degrees.
Is the Maremma good for a first trip to Tuscany?: Usually not first. It is the next layer, the region we suggest once guests have done Chianti and the Val d'Orcia and want something wilder.