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Tuscany
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FOLKLORE TRADITIONS
LA MERCA
“La merca” was in the past a proper cerimony. Durino the month
of May the herdsmen counted and cut out the new calves, and
they were sent into a labyrinth of “mandrioli” (wooden pens)
thus starting the ceremony of branding and the official entry
of the calves and ponies into the herd, in front of certain
of the city’s authorities.
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While a long metal rod with into a central enclosure, in the
middle of which is a forked tree-trunk. The animals is lassooed
and while two men throw it to the ground and tie it, another
takes the hot iron and brands it. |
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The May
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group of “Maggiolatori” was composed of a small chorus and
a few musicians - playing the fisarmonica and other instruments.
They went from farm to farm (and some still do today) on the
night between 30 April and 1st May. They were dressed in an
unusual fashion, clothes with many colours and flowers, and
asked permission from the head of each farming hausehold to
sing in “ottava rima”. After this they offered their flowers
to the girls of the household, and in return they were given
eggs, cheese, wine or other victuals.
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HISTORY AND CULTURE
It’s
difficult to find a single symbol that can sum up the multiplicity
of the influences that, over thirty centuries, have helped
to shape the Tuscan coast and its immediate hinterland, making
this area an immense store of historical and cultural resources.
Thanks to a wise policy of conservation, these are still available
to those who wish to discover the many unique features of
this area. Here unspoilt countryside surrounds Etruscan tombs
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the excavations of ancient Roman cities, towns and villages
still distinctly medieval in character and complex systems of
Renaissance fortifications. In past centuries the economic and
cultural life of Tuscany was concentrated in the towns and villages
built for safety on the heights, and still surrounded by walls
today, while the magnificent facades of their battlemented civic
buildings are decorated with the coasts of arms of the “podestà”
who ruled them. The wach-towers, the well-defended gates, the
fortresses also served to control mineral deposits, |
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outlets
to the sea and important trade routes. Indeed the inland areais
dotted with faschinating towns and villages offering a host
of architectural delights: a small selections of these includes
Suvereto, Campiglia, Roccastrada, Chiusdino, Scarlino, Scansano,
Capalbio and Pitigliano, but visitors will discover art treasures
and historic buildings tucked away in many other places just
a few miles from the sea. Innumerable buildings - whether they
be isolated pievi (parish churches) of famous religious monuments
- are well worth a visit for their architectural merits, the
works of art they contain, or their role in the religious history
and popular devotion of Tuscany. The peaceful |
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of the Maremma is dotted with the age-old remains of Etruscan
civilization. The tombs of the necropolis of Populonia are located
close to the gulf of Baratti, and the powerful cities of Roselle
and Vetulonia once overlooked Lake Prile. The ancient Etruscan
cities, and the finds and remains scattered around the region
are now being safeguarded bu such schemes as the Prco Archeologico-Naturalistico
Baratti-Populonia and, in the province of Grosseto, the Parco
della Civiltà Etrusca, comprising five separate archaeological
areas. |
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NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
After
Cecina the coast becomes sandy again with long beaches backed
by extensive pinewoods: all the seaside resorts, from Castiglioncello
to the border with Lazio - includine Castagneto-Donoratico,
San Vincenzo, Follonica, Punta Ala, Castiglione della Pescaia
and Marina di Grosseto - are shaded by large umbrella pines.
These pinewoods, often planted to replace the original coastal
forests of holm oaks and other trees, are part
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a landscape that was formed at least two centuries ago by human
intervention. They are now a familiar feature of the Tuscan
coast and constitute a natural environment worthy of special
protection, not only because they are the habitat of a wide
variety of flora and fauna, including the dense Mediterranean
undergrowth, but also because they are notable tourist attraction,
offering opportunities for delightful walks and cycle rides,
or simply shade for bathers on hot sunny days. Comprising twenty
kilometres or sandy coast interspersed with rocky |
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outcrops
and splendid coves - with no human settlements or access roads,
except for forest tracks closes to traffic - the Monti dell’Uccellina,
dominating the central and southern parts of the Parco Regionale
della Maremma, culminate at an altitude of 415 metres in the
Poggio Lecci. The rugged terrain and thick forest have contributed
to the survival of one of the few areas in Italy that can be
described as truly unspoilt. The wild boar, the symbol of the
Maremma, has its ideal habitat here in the dense vegetation;
consisting of the holm oak and the undergrowth of heath and
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it is made impenetrable to man by thorny bushes and creepers.
This area is also home to herds of Maremma cattle, left to run
wild in the reclaimed areas, and the horses of the butteri (the
local cowherds), the result of careful breeding by the Etruscans
and Romans in antiquity and by the Medici in more recent times.
Once as island, the Monti dell’Uccellina was gradually absorbed
by the floor plain of the Ombrone, a river bearing large quantities
of sand, like the other watercourses that have gradually linked
Monte Argentario to the mainland - although its insular nature
is still clearly evident - and have now definitively incorporated
the promontory of Piombino into the coast. This is the other
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face
of the Tuscan coast: after the sandy beaches and pinewoods beyond
Populonia, the rugged cliffs with interesting erosional phenomena
rise sheer from the clear blue waters of the Buche delle Fate.
Two narrow sand bars link Monte Argentario to the mainland,
and there couldn’t be a greater or more fascinating contrast
than the one between the wild rock faces of Monte Telegrafo
(635 m), covered with Mediterranean macchia, and the still waters
of the lagoon, with its silent reed beds where the little egret
and heron nest. This is a unique environment, where the circulation
of the water is ensured by a number of channels and slow infiltration
through the two sand bars. |
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SPAS, SPORT AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES
The abundance of thermal and mineral water springs, and the
matchless beauty of places where nature, art, history and
archaeology combine harmoniously have made numerous spas in
the coastal area, or just inland from it, tourist attractions
of international renown. Most of the spas in this part of
Tuscany are of ancient origin. Before the Romans, who, as
is well known, were very fond of spas, especially as resorts
for recreation and social activities, the Etruscans were already
accustomed to talking the waters at Saturnia and Roselle.
Other spas were added in Roman
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times:
Bagni di Caldana, the baths at Casciana, the hot springs at
AQUI Terme AND, AS BOTh Pliny and Varro recorded, the baths
as San Giuliano.
The spring at Uliveto was already known in the year 1000. The
sole exception is the spa of San Giovanni, on the island fo
Elba, which was only opened in 1962 and is now one of the leading
centres for thalassotherapy in Italy. For at least a century
the Tuscan coast has been meeting the needs of a heterogeneous
public of all ages with a tourist industry at an international
level capable of anticipating, year after year, the tastes and
trends of successive generations. The coast boasts |
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large number of bathing concessions, free beaches and facilities
for all kinds of aquatic sports. There are numerous marinas
and surfing, windsurfing and canoeing schools. While, because
of the favourable climatic conditions, a seaside holidays is
possible in Tuscany from May (or even earlier) until October,
the coastal strip and the area just inland from it often numerous
opportunities for outdoor activities in splendid surroundings
throughout the year. There are also lots of opportunities for
outdoor activities in the province of Grosseto. In the area
round Roccastrada there’s network of paths totalling nearly
150 km, divided into eight easy routes, clearly marked and suitable
for walking year-round. Castiglione della Pescaia is the starting-point
for various walks to the surrounding areas that are of both
historical and naturalistic interest: the |
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one
to Principina a Mare, which passes through a magnificent pinewood,
is also suitables for cycles. In the Parco Naturale Regionale
della Maremma there are various theme tours: San Rabano, the
watch-towers, Cala di Forno, the mouth of the Ombrone and Talamone,
forest and fauna oriented nature trails. In the park, canoe
trips around the mouth of the Ombrone are also possible. Cycling
has long been a popular sport in Tuscany and on its roads one
frequently comes across groups of amateurs or professionals
tackling the slopes - steep or gentle as they |
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may be - of the region’s innumerable hills. Slightly more challenging
routes climb the low hills of the Costa degli Etruschi or the
Maremma, while mountain-bike riders will get a lot of fun exploring
the network of paths through the woods and forests of the interior.
Those who prefer riding horses have plenty of riding schools
and stables to choose from because Tuscany is the region boasting
the largest number of these facilities in Italy. The most outstanding
of the events opening the season on the coast is the celebrated
Carnival at Viareggio, with a procession of floats that is even
more complex and spectacular. For opera lovers, the Festival
Pucciniano at Torre del Lago Puccini is held in July and August
on the shore of the lake which was a major source of inspiration
for the composer. At Easter there’s the spectacular and very
popular Palio della Costa Etrusca, a horse race in which the
jockeys of the Palio di Siena ride bareback on the beach at
San Vincenzo. At Massa Marittima, in the Balestro del Girifalco
- held twice a year, on 20 May and the second Sunday in August
- besides a procession in traditional costume and a display
by flag-wavers, crossbowmen shoot at the girifalco, a target
in the form of a falcon. Marine festivals are held on 15 August
at Porto S. Stefano (this is a race between four brightly-painted
boats representing the different quarters of the town) and on
the first Sunday after 15 August at Castiglione della Pescaia,
where the town’s five districts compete with each other. For
the Carriere of 19 August, Scarlino turns itself into a medieval
village animated by the locals in costume who perform as if
they were in a vast open-air theatre. |
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