A visit to the small but fast growing city of Grosseto is definitely worthwhile.
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| Grosseto, Duomo |
The bell tower on the left side of the cathedral is dated to 1402, but it underwent a significant intervention at the beginning of the 20th century.
Palazzo Aldobrandeschi, one of Grosseto's most important palazzi, is also located on this piazza. The palazzo was built on a pre-existing Medieval structure which was the residence of the Aldobrandeschi family. It was later transformed into apartments and workshops until 1898 when a petition signed by 500 local citizens convinced the Province to buy the building and transform it into civic offices. At the centre of the piazza there is a monument dedicated to Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorena, known as the Canapone, which presents an allegory of a dying Maremma which the Grand Duke resuscitates, offering it a new future.
Piazza Dante is connected to Porta Nuova by Corso Carducci, a street that celebrates the great Maremmano poet, Giosuè Carducci. Corso Carducci is a the perfect place for shopping, or an afternoon stroll. The buildings which line Corso Carducci were rebuilt at the end of the nineteenth century when the road was widened to underline the street’s importance in the town. Corso Carducci is proud to be home of the oldest building in the city: the church of San Pietro. The first written evidence of a church on this site goes back to 1118, although the building has undergone many alternations and renovation work since then. The external walls of the church are made of stone with occasional travertine blocks. When taking a stroll along Corso Carducci, it’s impossible not to notice the elegant Liberty style buildings that line the street, such as palazzo Pallini and palazzo Tognetti. There are also many Neo-Classical buildings along Corso Carducci, such as palazzo Ariosti. The facade of this building has two pairs of pilasters which rise up to the roof.
The city-walls of Grosseto, once built to defend the city, now form a pleasant tree-lined walk. Much of the walls' appearance today is due to the interventions of improvement that were carried out between 1574 and 1593 according to the project of the architect Baldassarre Lanci who was commissioned for the job by the Grand-duke Francesco I de' Medici.
The defensive walls develop around a hexagonal perimeter with corners defended by polygonal bastions and guard posts collocated at the tops of the more outlying bastions. Up to 1757 the walls were surrounded by an external ditch and an embankment of packed earth. In 1855 Leopoldo II had most of the guard posts situated on the bastions demolished, thus improving the aspect of the whole circuit which was transformed into a tree-lined walk for the citizens of Grosseto.
Holiday homes with pool in Tuscany Maremma Grosseto
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