In Italian the area around Pitigliano is called the Maremma. It comprises of two areas: the lowlands, that follow the shoreline of the Tiranean Sea is called "Bassa Maremma" (Lower Maremma). It's an area that has been threatened for many centuries up to the 1950's by malaria. Subsequently there are many ruins like the towns of Cosa and Roselle that once deserted where never inhabited again. In some places roman relics are to be found. Other places have always been inhabited up to today and have gone through many transformations in mediaeval and renaissance times when immense building activities occurred. In towns, which were both Etruscan and Roman, you'll not find many antiquities because the old buildings were torn down and the stones reused. In some cases the Roman walls are today imbedded in newer buildings. What you can frequently see are parts of the surrounding walls that were still there in mediaeval times. So it's sometimes hard to tell which part of a wall around a town is from Etruscan, Roman or later times.

Although the main topic of this site is about Romans, we have to talk about the Etruscan culture too. On the one hand, both civilisations have mingled especially in later Etruscan times when the Etruscan towns fell one by one first under Roman influence, and then under Roman rule till the last important Etruscan town fell. But the people living there were still Etruscan, building in both their traditional way as well as accepting roman influences. Not to forget that even long before Roman rule the Romans had adopted quite a lot of Etruscan influences. The city of Rome was ruled for centuries by Etruscan kings. On the other hand, after the Romans had conquered all of Etruria in 280 B.C. the Etruscans kept on using their architecture, transforming or restoring it. So that today you can still see partly Etruscan and Roman influences. But it's important to know that the Etruscan houses and even temples were built with wood, only the foundations were of stone, so you can hardly find ruins of Etruscan buildings with stone walls.

The mostly volcanic mountainous area is called "Alta Maremma" (Upper Maremma). Most of this area is covered by tuff (in italian: tufo), a volcanic material, that was discharged from volcanoes in prehistoric times. Only the western mountains close to the lowlands (like in the area of Saturnia) are not covered with tuff, there original prehistoric stone can be seen on the surface (mostly different kinds of chalk like stone). Tuff can be worked quite easily as long as it has had no contact with air that hardens it. Tuff has been used by people living in the area from early times. Today most of the old buildings are gone, and most of the remains are made from hollowed out tuff. As a well known archaeologist once said: There is nothing that lasts longer than a hole in the ground.

So what is to be seen often, small wonder, is situated outside the cities and are Roman and Etruscan tombs carved into the tuff. They are mostly temple or tumulus shaped. The tombs of the lower social classes (of which there are thousands and thousands, many of them not even uncovered let alone excavated) are very often just rectangular holes in the ground or in a rock flank. Many of them are still used today as sheds, for tools or storage. But there are even tuff-made mediaeval houses in the old city centres with cellars one on top of the other some "normal" medieval ones on top and further down a roman "columbarium", perfectly restored, and today used for private candlelight parties. The columbarium is also typical for both the Roman and Etruscan periods. It is a rectangular room, carved into the tuff with lots of niches in which the urns of the burned dead where placed. They look like pigeon nests, which gave them their name.

What you can also often see are steep Etruscan paths caved into the tuff. They were built to cross the very steep river valleys from one side to the other.