The Middle Ages
in Maremma

The Maremma was a prosperous land under the Etruscans first, then the Romans and finally the Aldobrandeschi (descendants of the Lombards), who dominated it until the 13th century.
The conquest by the Republic of Siena marked the end of the feudal era and the decline of this land. Access to the rich pastures of the Maremma, flat and with a mild climate, was drastically reduced following the introduction of a duty by the Republic of Siena. The Maremma region, mostly flat, was soon transformed into a marshy and unhealthy land plagued by malaria. This beautiful and once rich land quickly became impoverished and depopulated.
It was probably back then that the well-known Tuscan saying "Maremma maiala" originated, due to the difficult living conditions that characterised the region at that time.


The Grand Duchy
of Tuscany

At the beginning of the 19th century began a virtuous process of revitalisation of these lands. First Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorraine and then Mussolini undertook an effective land reclamation process. In 1950, Amintore Fanfani's agrarian reform was passed, putting an end to the estate practice with the creation of the "Ente Maremma". In Robin Hood style, land was expropriated from the large landowners and redistributed to the peasants along with newly built farmsteads. This high moment of social justice in our country also marked the birth of a new economic subject: the agricultural entrepreneur, a figure who still determines the diversity of the Italian agricultural sector.


The Maremma today

Due to its troubled history, the Maremma is still backward. The Maremma was and still is one of the most sparsely populated areas in Italy, and one of the few areas where nature is still the main resource.
The Maremma is a difficult land of hard work and limited earnings. Yet the entire region is endowed with an ethereal, elusive resource that only those who live there during all four seasons of the year can grasp: freedom.
Living in the Maremma today means, in my opinion, being free.
Free to do, free to suffer, free to make mistakes in order to find one's own path.