Casale Marittimo

Casale Marittimo
Country	Italy
region	Tuscany
province	Pisa (PI)
Coordinates	43 ° 18 ' N , 10 ° 37' E Coordinates: 43 ° 17 '52 " N , 10 ° 37' 1" E
height	214 m slm
surface	14.3 km²
Residents	1,073 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	75 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	56040
prefix	0586
ISTAT number	050006
Popular name	Casalesi
Patron saint	Sant'Andrea
Website	Casale Marittimo
	; Panorama of Casale Marittimo

Casale Marittimo is a municipality in the province of Pisa in the Tuscany region in Italy with 1073 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019).

geography

Location of Casale Marittimo in the province of Pisa

The place with its very well preserved medieval town center is located on a hill in the hinterland of Cecina , about twelve km from the Tyrrhenian coast. The community extends over approx. 14 km² . It is about 70 km southwest of Florence and 50 km southeast of Pisa . The municipality is in the climatic classification of Italian municipalities in zone D, 1843 GR / G.

The community has no other districts.

The neighboring communities are Bibbona ( LI ), Cecina (LI) and Guardistallo .

history

Casale Marittimo was already settled in Etruscan times, as evidenced by excavations on the territory of the municipality, including a tomb in the form of a tholos from the 5th century BC. BC (now in the Archaeological Museum of Florence ). The remains of some Roman villas have also been found. The place is first mentioned in the Middle Ages in 1004 as the castle of Count della Gherardesca ; it served to protect the coast and the valley of the Cecina . After Pisan rule, the place belonged to Florence from 1406.

For centuries Casale Marittimo lived from agriculture (grain, olive oil, viticulture). As in many rural areas of Italy, the population began to migrate for economic reasons from the 1950s. Many of the abandoned smallholder buildings were later converted into holiday homes. Today the main source of income is tourism ( agrotourism , Italian language courses, seminars); viticulture was also revived (Casale Marittimo is part of the DOC Montescudaio ).

Culture and sights

Parish Church of Sant'Andrea

Two city gates and other remains of the wall, which were integrated into the urban development, have been preserved from the medieval castle complex.
Chiesa di Sant'Andrea - parish church built in 1873 over the older medieval church that was destroyed in an earthquake in 1871.