Grosseto

Grosseto
—  Comune  —
Comune di Grosseto
Aerial view of Grosseto
Coat of arms
Grosseto Location of Grosseto in Italy
Coordinates: 42°46′N 11°06′E / 42.767°N 11.1°E / 42.767; 11.1Coordinates: 42°46′N 11°06′E / 42.767°N 11.1°E / 42.767; 11.1
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Grosseto (GR)
Frazioni	Alberese, Batignano, Braccagni, Istia d'Ombrone, Marina di Grosseto, Montepescali, Principina a Mare, Principina Terra, Rispescia, Roselle
Government
- Mayor	Emilio Bonifazi (since May 29, 2006)
Area
- Total	474.46 km2 (183.2 sq mi)
Elevation	10 m (33 ft)
Population (30 April 2009)
- Total	80,483
- Density	169.6/km2 (439.3/sq mi)
- Demonym	Grossetani
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Postal code	58100
Dialing code	0564
Patron saint	St. Lawrence
Saint day	August 10
Website	Official website

Grosseto is a town and comune in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies 14 km from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain, on the Ombrone river.

Of the roughly 100,000 inhabitants of the commune, approximately 80,000 live in the city proper: the remainder are distributed in frazioni, including Marina di Grosseto, the largest, Roselle, Principina a Mare, Montepescali, Braccagni, Istia d'Ombrone, Batignano and Alberese.

History

The origins of Grosseto can be traced back to the High Middle Ages. It is first mentioned in 803 as a fief of the Counts Aldobrandeschi, in a document recording the assignment of the church of St. George to Ildebrando degli Aldobrandeschi, whose successors where counts of the Grossetana Mark until the end of the 12th century.

Grosseto steadily grew in importance owing to the decline of Rusellae and Vetulonia until it was one of the principal Tuscan cities. In 1137 the city was besieged by German troops, led by duke Henry X of Bavaria, sent by the emperor Lothair III to reinstate his authority over the Aldobrandeschi. In the following year the bishopric of Roselle was transferred to Grosseto.

In 1151 the citizens swore loyalty to the Siena, and in 1222 the Aldobrandeschi gave the Grossetani the right to have their own podestà, together with three councilors and consuls. In 1244 the city was reconquered by the Sienese, and its powers, together with all the Aldobrandeschi's imperial privileges, were transferred to Siena by order of the imperial vicar. Thereafter Grosseto shared the fortunes of Siena. It became an important stronghold, and the fortress (rocca), the walls and bastions can still to be seen.

In 1266 and in 1355, Grosseto tried in vain to win freedom from the overlordship of Siena. While Guelph and Ghibelline parties struggled for control of that city, Umberto and Aldobrandino Aldobrandeschi tried to regain Grossetto for their family. The Sienese armies were however victorious, and in 1259 they named a podestà from their city. But Grosseto gained its freedom and in the following year and fought alongside the Florentine forces in the Battle of Montaperti.

Over the next 80 years Grosseto was again occupied, ravaged, excommunicated by Pope Clement IV, freed in a republic led by Maria Scozia Tolomei, besieged by emperor Louis IV and by the antipope Nicholas V in 1328, until it finally submitted to its more powerful neighbour, Siena.

The pestilence of 1348 struck Grosseto hard and by 1369 its population had been reduced to some hundred families. Its territory, moreover, was frequently ravaged, notably in 1447 by Alfons V of Sicily and in 1455 by Jacopo Piccinino.

Sienese rule ended in 1559, when Charles V handed over the whole duchy to Cosimo I de Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1574 the construction of a line of defensive walls was begun, which are still well preserved today, while the surrounding swampy plain was drained. Grosseto, however, remained a minor town, with only 700 inhabitants at the beginning of the 18th century.

Under the rule of the House of Lorraine, Grosseto flourished. It was given the title of capital of the new Maremma province.

Literature

Andrea da Grosseto was born in Grosseto in the first half of 1200. He is very important in Italian literature, because he is considered the first writer in the Italian language. Andrea da Grosseto translated from Latin into the Italian language the Treaties of Albertano of Brescia, in 1268, using an Italian vernacular based on the Tuscan dialect of that time, especially the Grossetan dialect, spoken in his home town.

Main sights

The Medicean Walls

The walls were begun by Francesco I de Medici in 1574, replacing those from the 12th-14th centuries, as part of his policy of making Grosseto a stronghold to protect his southern border. The design was by Baldassarre Lanci, and the construction took 19 years, being completed under Grand Duke Ferdinand I. Until 1757 the exterior was surrounded by a ditch with an earthen moat. There were two main gates: Porta Nuova on the North and Porta Reale (now Porta Vecchia) on the South.

The walls are now used as a public park and walking area.

The Cathedral of Grosseto.

The Cathedral

The Romanesque cathedral, the main monument of the city, is named for its patron St. Lawrence, and was begun at the end of the 13th century, by architect Sozzo Rustichini of Siena. Erected over the earlier church of Santa Maria Assunta, it was only finished in the 15th century (mainly due to the continuing struggles against Siena).

The façade of alternate layers of white and black marble is Romanesque in style, but is almost entirely the result of 16th century and 1816–1855 restorations: it retains decorative parts of the originary buildings, including Evangelists' symbols. The layout consists of a Latin cross, with transept and apse. The interior has a nave with two aisles, separated by cruciform pilasters. The main artworks are a wondrously carved baptismal font from 1470–1474 and the Madonna delle Grazie by Matteo di Giovanni (1470).

The campanile (bell tower) was finished in 1402, and restored in 1911.

Palazzo Aldobrandeschi

Built in the Middle Ages, it was almost entirely rebuilt in the early 19th century. It is now a Neo-Gothic edifice with ogival mullioned windows, and merlons in the upper part of the walls. It houses the seat of the province of Grosseto.

Roselle

Roselle, in Latin Rusellae, now a municipal frazione of Grosseto, was once the main city in the area. Of Etruscan origin, it was built on a hill that offered protection and commanded all the nearby valley. The extent of its dominion is not clear, but probably at its peak included most of the Vetulonia territory. The city's splendour ended in 294 BCE, when, according to Livy, the Roman Republic conquered it. After the end of the Roman Empire, in the 5th century CE, Roselle was still the most important centre of what is now southern Tuscany. Its gradual decline began in 1138, when the diocesan seat was moved to Grosseto.

Etruscan ruins had been discovered in Roselle, including cyclopean walls six kilometers in circumference, and sulphur baths, which in the last century were restored for medicinal uses. There was formerly an amphitheatre.

Others

• Church of San Francesco.
• Church of San Pietro, the most ancient in Grosseto.
• Medieval buildings in the frazioni of Batignano, Istia d'Ombrone and Montepescali.
• Granducal villa of Alberese, built by the Knights Hospitaller in the 15th century, and later used as residence by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.
• Ruins of the Abbey of San Pancrazio al Fango, between Grosseto and Castiglione della Pescaia, in the Natural Reserve of the Diaccia Batrona.
• Abbey of San Rabano, also in ruins, located in the Parco Nazionale della Maremma. Originally belonging to the Benedictines, it was later a possession of the Knights Hospitaller.

See also

• Diocese of Grosseto
• Andrea of Grosseto

Sources and external links

• Grosseto -Catholic Encyclopedia article
• Official website (Italian)

This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913.