Anywhere ItalySubscribe
Grosseto, Tuscany
Coat of arms of Grosseto

Tuscany · Grosseto

Grosseto

The Maremma capital on the Ombrone river, ringed by hexagonal Medici walls of 1564 that now serve as the city's public park.

By Peter Benei

Written about. No. 49.

Our take

Maremma | The Last Cowboys of Tuscany

Everyone driving from Florence down to Rome crosses the Maremma without noticing, because there is nothing on that stretch to make them slow down. The hills give out. The cypresses stop. What opens up instead is flat open country, wheat and grass running off to a few low rises, the least Tuscan-looking part of Tuscany, a landscape you would call dull if you were being honest and which most guidebooks solve by leaving out.

From the letter, July 2026

Read the full letter, for members

Grosseto is in our free Tuscan Mainland guide

Visiting

Best time
May–Sep
By car
1 h 14 min from Siena
By train
Station in the comune
Population
81,264

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J12°
  • F15°
  • M16°
  • A18°
  • M23°
  • J28°
  • J32°
  • A32°
  • S27°
  • O22°
  • N17°
  • D13°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.

Why come

Grosseto sits on the right bank of the Ombrone, ten meters above sea level and twelve kilometers inland from the Tyrrhenian. The Roman city of Roselle was destroyed in 935 by Saracen pirates; refugees regrouped on the plain below and Grosseto inherited the bishopric. From 1336 it was Sienese; in 1559 it passed to the Medici after the battle of Montalcino.

Cosimo I commissioned Baldassarre Lanci to replace the medieval walls with a hexagonal bastioned circuit, begun in 1565 and finished a decade later. The walls are intact. Six bastions, two main gates, a continuous earthwork four kilometers around, now planted and used as the city's promenade.

Inside, the Duomo di San Lorenzo holds a Romanesque-Gothic façade in alternating white and pink marble. The Cassero Senese, the Sienese fortress of 1345 swallowed into the later Medici walls, anchors the southeast corner. Grosseto is the largest city of southern Toscana and the working capital of the Maremma.

How to get there

From Pisa (PSA), about 2 h 3 min by car.

Rome Fiumicino (FCO) is about 2 h 13 min away.

By car from the center of Siena 1 h 14 min, Pisa 1 h 56 min or Florence 2 h 15 min.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Pisa or Florence?

First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.

Grosseto, Tuscany
Grosseto, Tuscany

What to see

  • Mura Medicee

    Hexagonal bastioned circuit commissioned by Cosimo I in 1564, designed by Baldassarre Lanci, intact and walkable for the full four kilometers.

  • Duomo di San Lorenzo

    Thirteenth-century cathedral with a façade in alternating white and pink marble, Latin-cross plan, semicircular apse over the nave.

  • Cassero Senese

    Travertine-clad Sienese fortress completed in 1345, incorporated into the southeast corner of the Medici walls, now used for exhibitions.

  • Museo Archeologico e d'Arte della Maremma

    Provincial museum on Piazza Baccarini collecting Etruscan and Roman finds from Roselle, Vetulonia and the Maremma.

  • Chiesa di San Francesco

    Thirteenth-century Franciscan church near the northwest bastion, with a crucifix attributed to Duccio di Buoninsegna above the high altar.

From the guides

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

  • CanaponeRistorante

    Canapone has two Gambero Rosso forks (81/100) and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • L'Uva e il MaltoTrattoria

    L'Uva e il Malto holds two Gambero Rosso prawns and a spot in the Michelin Guide.

  • Gabbiano 3.0Ristorante

    Gabbiano 3.0 holds two Gambero Rosso forks (83/100).

1 more place the guides name in Grosseto

  • Oste ScuroRistorante

    A Slow Food snail, at Oste Scuro.

Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.

Living here

Could you live here?

Grosseto is a city.

  • A city of 81,264 people, and a provincial capital: the services are here, not a drive away.
  • A station of its own, so the rest of Italy is a train ride away.

The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.

How we choose a town, and every town by these rules.

  • Population 81,264, down 0.6% since 2015
  • Train station in the comune
  • A national health service hospital in the comune · how healthcare works in Italy
  • Homes in the center: €1,500 to €2,000 per m² to buy, €7.80 to €9.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.

More about living here

  • A local hub
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Full fibre reaches 89% of homes
  • Primary school in the comune
  • Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
  • Pisa airport (PSA), 2 h 3 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
  • Regional capital Florence, 2 h 15 min drive

If you are moving here

Grosseto

Who lives here

9% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Albania and Ukraine, against 9% across Italy. 169 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, France and the United Kingdom. There are 255 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 21% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Grosseto province ranks 59th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.

Health and schools

There is an emergency room in the comune. It has a children's emergency room too. The nearest major one is in Siena, 64 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Siena, 66 km as the crow flies.

Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.

Working from here

Poste Italiane has finished a coworking room in the comune, on its register of 30 September 2026. Check that it is open on Poste's booking site before you count on it.

Taxes

A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.

Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.

What it costs

The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Grosseto, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.20.

What it costs to live in Italy.

Climate and risk

It is in climate zone D, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 1 to April 15, up to 12 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 5% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.

These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.

Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.

Thermal baths in town: Terme di Roselle.

Known for

  • MEDICI WALLS

    Hexagonal bastioned circuit of 1564 commissioned by Cosimo I, four kilometers around, intact, now used as the city's public park.

  • MAREMMA

    Capital of the historical region between Toscana and Lazio, anchor of the Parco Regionale della Maremma and the inland Uccellina hills.

  • BUTTERI

    Maremma cowboys still herd longhorn cattle and wild horses in the park south of the city, descendants of a working tradition older than the American West.

  • MORELLINO DI SCANSANO

    The commune lies inside the Morellino di Scansano DOCG production zone.

Common questions

What is Grosseto known for?
Grosseto is the Maremma capital on the Ombrone river, ringed by hexagonal Medici walls of 1564 that now serve as the city's public park.
Where is Grosseto?
Grosseto is a comune in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, at 10 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Grosseto?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pisa (PSA), about 2 h 3 min by car.
Can you get to Grosseto without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Siena to Grosseto?
About 1 h 14 min by car.
When is the best time to visit Grosseto?
Best in May–Sep. July is the warmest month, averaging 32 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
Which other towns are like Grosseto?
Pisa, Livorno and Pozzuoli.
How many people live in Grosseto?
81,264 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
Is Grosseto a good place to live?
Grosseto is a city of 81,264 people, the kind of place Part 3 of our Where to Move in Italy series is about. There is a national health service hospital in the comune. Full fibre reaches 89% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 10 m
  • Population: 81,264
  • Surface area: 473.55 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

The ranked lists

Lists Grosseto appears in

All the ranked lists ›

Near here, with a letter

Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.