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Tuscany Tuscany Villages Campiglia Marittima
Campiglia Marittima
The Romanesque church of San Giovanni has an equally turbulent past. When San Fiorenzo's relics were found nearby, Piombino and Campiglia disputed ownership. A test was devised to establish the saint's posthumous sense of home: the relics were put on a cart and the oxen, left to decide where to go, trudged uphill to the saint's present resting place. Naturally the oxen were Campigliese.
Campiglia's mineral past is never far from the surface. In the quarry area of Madonna di Fucinaia and Rocco San Silvestro an archaeological mining museum park has been built (open Tues-Sun in summer; daily in August; Sat, Sun and public hols in winter; entrance fee). Recent excavations have revealed traces of copper, lead, silver and tin, proving that this site was quarried since Etruscan times. The Campigliese boast that their marble contributed to Florence's Duomo is to be taken with a pinch of salt: claiming ownership of national monuments is a common regional habit.
Although mining is an important cultural tradition, food plays a bigger role in the local economy. The simple peasant dishes reflect Campiglia's traditional poverty and dignity. Many dishes - probably the most famous being the Zuppa Lombarda, a soup of bread and beans - were imported by the so-called Lombardi, seasonal workers from the Emilian or Pistoian hills.
These shepherds and woodcutters lived in tenements near the swamps but came inland in the evenings to mix with the locals. In exchange for kindness and dinner, the Lombardi introduced those in the Val di Cornia to chestnut polenta, rice soups and raviolini. Local game, sausages and funghi porclni were easily incorporated, and Campigliese cuisine has never looked back. The dynamic Suvereto and Campigliese tourist offices will suggest restaurants and Agriturismo farm stays where these delights can be sampled.
Campiglia's mineral past is never far from the surface. In the quarry area of Madonna di Fucinaia and Rocco San Silvestro an archaeological mining museum park has been built (open Tues-Sun in summer; daily in August; Sat, Sun and public hols in winter; entrance fee). Recent excavations have revealed traces of copper, lead, silver and tin, proving that this site was quarried since Etruscan times. The Campigliese boast that their marble contributed to Florence's Duomo is to be taken with a pinch of salt: claiming ownership of national monuments is a common regional habit.Although mining is an important cultural tradition, food plays a bigger role in the local economy. The simple peasant dishes reflect Campiglia's traditional poverty and dignity. Many dishes - probably the most famous being the Zuppa Lombarda, a soup of bread and beans - were imported by the so-called Lombardi, seasonal workers from the Emilian or Pistoian hills.These shepherds and woodcutters lived in tenements near the swamps but came inland in the evenings to mix with the locals. In exchange for kindness and dinner, the Lombardi introduced those in the Val di Cornia to chestnut polenta, rice soups and raviolini. Local game, sausages and funghi porclni were easily incorporated, and Campigliese cuisine has never looked back. The dynamic Suvereto and Campigliese tourist offices will suggest restaurants and Agriturismo farm stays where these delights can be sampled.
We are in Tuscany, 5 km far from Suvereto Village and 20 minutes from sea...