Montieri is a nice village in the Tuscan Metalliferous Hills, administrative center of the homonymous municipality in the northern part of the Province of Grosseto. In addition to the town itself, the Municipality of Montieri also includes the following medieval villages in its territory:
The village of Montieri is located on the side of a green hill at about 704 meters above sea level. Its high hill position and full immersion in the green of the surrounding woods make Montieri an ideal village for those looking for a cool and quiet place, sheltered from the summer heat.
Historical overview
Born around 900 AD. as a mining site (the name Montieri derives from Mons-Aeris which means “copper mountain”), with the passage of time the workers’ huts were replaced by real houses, until they became an important fortified castle in medieval era. This period was certainly the period of greatest splendor for the village, with a predominant extraction of silver from the subsoil, traded throughout Europe and which mainly fueled the minting of the coins of the city of Siena.
In addition to silver, copper, lead, iron and pyrite have also been mined in the area over the centuries. These hills have in fact always been known as Tuscan Metalliferous Hills.
Montieri today
Walking through the town, the medieval structure of the town can still be seen today. Starting from the “Piazza del Comune”, there are lot of alleys that branch off up and down the village. Most of the buildings in the historic center have the characteristic stone facades, with coats of arms, decorations and architraves of clear medieval origin.
Today Montieri is a quiet village of about 400 inhabitants that becomes more lively in the summer, when Italian and foreign tourists spend pleasant moments here away from the chaos of the city and the scorching summer temperatures.
More info about Montieri and its territory can be found on the Municipality’s website (www.comune.montieri.gr.it) or on the Tourist Office’s website (www.turismomontieri.it)
