Alberese () is a rural town in southern

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, a ''

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

'' of the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces ('' province''). The can ...

'' of

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

. It is situated 20 km south-east of the capital, in the heart of the Natural Park of

Maremma The Maremma (, ; from Latin , "maritime and) is a coastal area of western central Italy, bordering the Tyrrhenian Sea. It includes much of south-western Tuscany and part of northern Lazio. It was formerly mostly marshland, often malarial, bu ...

. This area includes the surrounding rural territories which begin with the first foot-hills of the hinterland and end with the sea, crossing the northern peaks of the Uccellina Mountains.

History

Even during prehistory some ancient caves were inhabited, such as the one of the ''Scoglietto'', which conserves traces of even more recent life (

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

Roman period The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

), Etruscan (''Poggio Raso'') and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

(''Santa Francesca'', ''Le Frasche'') remains are present mainly towards

Talamone Talamone is a town in Tuscany, on the west coast of central Italy, administratively a frazione of the comune of Orbetello, province of Grosseto, in the Tuscan Maremma. Talamone is easily reached from Via Aurelia, and is about from Grosseto and ...

and along

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cla ...

. The modern rural residence area, dominated by the imposing mass of the ''Villa Granducale'', was developed in the last two centuries, thanks to the freehold Reform and to the allocation of the territories to farmers, most coming from

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

and

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative Regions ...

Environment

In spite of the presence of man, the natural surrounding havens, with their heritage of game reserves and large flower expanses, have been saved. At present, the body of the Natural Park of

and a series of regional laws allow to safeguard conservation and the lasting of these beauties. Herds of wild

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million ...

s and Maremmana cows still scamper among the wide fields while deer and wild boars live undisturbed within the dense forests of the Uccellina Mountains. Within the Park there is not only uncontaminated nature but numerous and sometimes evident are the signs of man's presence in various periods. In every season the exterminated country-side becomes alive again with the colours of nature; ochre in autumn and in winter, green in spring and yellow in summer. This is the time when expanses of sunflowers are alternated to fields of wheat. In the sunny summer days it is not uncommon to run into the phenomenon of the Fata Morgana crossing bare-foot the long and straight nearby roads.

Climate

The climate of the locality and of the Alberese area presents characteristics of the

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, more marked along the coastal area and lightly attenuated in the plain area in which the centre stands. This is due to the presence, from west, of the Uccellina Mountains which create a limited barrier effect from the mitigation action of the sea. The medium temperatures in January are testified at around +7 °C, while in July temperatures exceed 22 °C. On average the values are a bit inferior, mainly in the summer season, to those registered at the two weather stations in

. In comparison to the capital, average annual precipitations result to be inferior, both in quantity (600 mm per year) and in frequency (62 days per year with at least 1 mm). Rain results to be very scarce during the three-month summer season (on average about 60 mm in just 7 days).

Main sights

* ''Villa Granducale di Alberese'' * Church of ''Sant'Antonio Abate'' * Church of ''Santa Maria'' * Abbey of ''San Rabano'' * Hermitage of ''Uccellina'' * Tower of ''Uccellina'' * Tower of ''Castel Marino'' * Tower of ''Collelungo'' * Templar archaeological site of the ''Scoglietto''

Bibliography

*Aldo Mazzolai. ''Guida della Maremma. Percorsi tra arte e natura''. Florence, Le Lettere, 1997. *Giuseppe Guerrini. ''Torri e Castelli della Provincia di Grosseto''. Siena, Nuova Immagine Editrice, 1999. *Marcella Parisi. ''Grosseto dentro e fuori porta. L'emozione e il pensiero''. Siena, C&P Adver Effigi, 2001.

External links