Follonica: Cast Iron, Blue Flags, and the Gateway to the Mining Hills
Follonica has a church built with cast-iron columns and rose window, Blue Flag family beaches, and the only train station serving the Colline Metallifere.
Gavorrano: From Europe’s Largest Pyrite Mine to a Theater in Stone
Gavorrano turned Europe’s largest pyrite mine into a heritage park, carved a 2,000-seat theater from a quarry, and guards the legend of Dante’s Pia de’ Tolomei.
Massa Marittima: Tuscany’s Secret Siena
Massa Marittima holds a Duccio Maestà, a Lorenzetti masterpiece, a fresco of phalluses, and Europe’s oldest mining code — all in a town most tourists miss.
Monterotondo Marittimo: Walking on a Volcano
At Monterotondo Marittimo’s Le Biancane park, you walk free among fumaroles, bubbling mud, and bleached rock — Tuscany’s most extraordinary hidden attraction.
Montieri and Boccheggiano: The Mountain of Copper, Now Fossil-Free
Montieri hides Italy’s only hexapetal church, a medieval gold brooch, and copper-red scoria hills — all powered by geothermal energy. Zero fossil fuels.
Roccastrada and Its Villages: Boulders, Battlefields and a Famous Fresco
Roccastrada’s villages grow from giant boulders, guard the castle in Italy’s most debated fresco, and hold the memorial to Tuscany’s worst mining disaster.
Scarlino and the Singing Sands: Cala Violina, a Fortress, and Garibaldi’s Escape
Cala Violina’s quartz sand sings when you walk. Max 700 visitors per day, €1 booking required. Above it, Scarlino’s fortress looks to Elba and Corsica.
Meet the Moris Family: Three Centuries, 3,600 Cypresses, and Maremma’s First Super Tuscan
The Moris family has farmed the hills above the Gulf of Follonica since the 1700s. Their Avvoltore was Maremma’s first Super Tuscan. The terrace has views to Elba.
4 Days in the Colline Metallifere: Mines, Moonscapes and the Sea
A 4-day itinerary through Tuscany’s Colline Metallifere: medieval Massa Marittima, geothermal moonscapes, mining heritage, and the singing sands of Cala Violina.
Colline Metallifere: The Hills That Powered Five Thousand Years
The Colline Metallifere hide 5,000 years of mining history, a UNESCO Geopark, geothermal moonscapes, a secret Siena, and Tuscany’s best free beach.