Tuscany · Pisa
Casale Marittimo
A concentric stone borgoabove the Val di Cecina, built where a seventh-century BC Etruscan outpost of Volterra once stood.
63 km / 39 mi
Nearest hub (Livorno)
1,051
Population
Apr–Oct
Best time to visit
Recognised as
Why come
Casale Marittimo rises on a hillabove the Val di Cecina, fifty kilometers southeast of Pisa, the Tyrrhenian coast visible from the upper streets. The settlement here was an outpost of Etruscan Volterra in the seventh century BC; the necropolis of Casa Nocera turned up two stone statues of warrior princes, now in the Archaeological Museum of Florence, among the oldest figurative sculptures in European art. The medieval centro is recorded as a castle of the Counts of Gherardesca by 1004, the streets arranged in concentric rings inside the old walls, stone houses pressed against the slope. Casale Marittimo carries both the Borghi più belli d'Italia and Bandiera Arancione marks, unusual for a commune of just over a thousand inhabitants. The Chiesa di Sant'Andrea sits on the foundations of an older parish church; Palazzo Rocca and the eighteenth-century Santa Maria delle Grazie close the small loop of the centro storico.
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Gallery
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Known for
Centro storico
Concentric ring of stone streets inside the medieval walls, with houses pressed against the slope and Palazzo Rocca at the top.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea
Parish church rebuilt on the ruins of an older pieve, the principal religious building of the borgo.
Santa Maria delle Grazie
Eighteenth-century church on the lower edge of the centro storico, simple Tuscan late-Baroque façade.
Necropoli di Casa Nocera
Etruscan burial complex from the seventh century BC, where the warrior princes statues now in Florence's archaeological museum were found.
When to visit
Best months · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
April through June brings the warm coastal hills into their best season, evenings still cool on the ridge. September and October are dry and clear, the harvest in the surrounding vineyards followed by the olive pick. July and August are hot in the Val di Cecina, but the sea breeze reaches the upper streets and tempers the worst of it. November through March is quiet, many small bars and restaurants closed weekdays. Vermentino and Sangiovese from the Costa degli Etruschi DOC come into season at vendemmia. The Sagra del Pesce in late summer fills the small piazza for one weekend with grilled fish and Vermentino served at trestle tables.
How to get there
From Livorno, Casale Marittimo is roughly 63 km by road. Allow about 54–76 minutes depending on traffic and route choice (autostrada vs scenic).
Drive time to the nearest gateway airports
- Florence / Pisa1h 3m
- Bologna2h 36m
- Genoa2h 43m
Elevation 214 m
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Close by
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🎨 Borghi più belli d'Italia
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