Tuscany · Grosseto
Manciano
A market town in the southern Maremma, with a Sienese fortress of 1424 and the thermal frazione of Saturnia in its territory.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 50.
The letter
Manciano got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 10 min from Siena
- Population
- 6,916
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A16°
- M21°
- J26°
- J31°
- A30°
- S25°
- O20°
- N15°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Manciano sits on a hill in the southern Maremma grossetana, with a 360-degree view that runs from Monte Amiata north to the Tyrrhenian coast. The Aldobrandeschi held the original stronghold from the twelfth century. Siena occupied the town between 1419 and 1455 and built the Rocca that still dominates the centro storico, a square keep with battlements on a shoe-base.
After 1455 it returned to local rule and passed eventually to the Medici Grand Duchy. The comune is large by Toscana standards and includes some of the best-known places of the southern Maremma: Saturnia, the Etruscan town built around its sulphurous hot springs, and Montemerano, a small walled borgo on the road to the Lago di Bolsena. The Albegna and Fiora valleys, which the town once served as a regional market, still meet at its foot. Wine, olive oil and wild boar work the territory in roughly the order they sit on a Maremmano menu.
How to get there
From Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 47 min by car.
Pisa (PSA) is about 3 h 1 min away.
By car from the center of Siena 2 h 10 min or Perugia 2 h 30 min.
Every town within reach of Rome Fiumicino airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Rocca Aldobrandesca
Sienese fortress of 1424 on Aldobrandeschi foundations, square keep, walls with battlements and a solid shoe-base, dominating the centro storico.
Saturnia
Etruscan town and frazione south of Manciano, with medieval walls, remains of a Roman road and the sulphurous hot springs used since antiquity.
Montemerano
Small walled borgo east of Manciano, three concentric circles of streets and a fifteenth-century Madonna della Gattaiola in the parish church.
Chiesa di San Leonardo
Romanesque parish church inside the walls, rebuilt in the seventeenth century, with a fifteenth-century baptismal font in travertine.
Museo di Preistoria e Protostoria
Prehistory museum on the Albegna and Fiora valleys, with finds from Paleolithic through Etruscan occupation across the comune territory.
From the guides
Where to eat and stay
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.
CainoRistorante
Two Michelin stars for Caino, and a La Liste score of 90.
I Due Cippi dal 1976Ristorante
Two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) for I Due Cippi dal 1976, and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
La FilandaRistorante
La Filanda has a spot in the Michelin Guide to its name.
2 more places the guides name in Manciano
Trattoria Da PaolinoTrattoria
Trattoria Da Paolino carries two Gambero Rosso prawns.
Terme di Saturnia Natural SPA & Golf ResortHotel
A Leading Hotels of the World listing, at Terme di Saturnia Natural SPA & Golf Resort.
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?
Manciano meets 1 of our 2 rules for a small town.
- 6,916 people, inside our sweet spot of 5,000 to 20,000: a real town, still one community.
- Grosseto, a city of 81,264, is 1 h 11 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
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.
- Population 6,916, down 6.6% since 2015
- Nearest city Grosseto, 1 h 11 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Pitigliano, 12 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €970 to €1,350 per m² to buy, €3.70 to €4.50 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 95% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Rome Fiumicino airport (FCO), 1 h 47 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 3 h 6 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
14% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, North Macedonia and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 60 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. There are 349 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 41% 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
The nearest emergency room is in Pitigliano, 12 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Siena, 82 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in Grosseto, 40 km away. The nearest IB school is Viterbo International School, 52 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.01% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.6% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €15,000. 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.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone E, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from October 15 to April 15, up to 14 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 3% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 10% in a high or medium one. 20% 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: Cascate del Mulino, Terme di Saturnia.
Known for
SATURNIA
Etruscan frazione with sulphurous hot springs averaging 37 degrees Celsius, used since Roman times and free to enter at the Cascate del Mulino.
ROCCA SENESE
Square keep on Aldobrandeschi foundations, built by Siena in 1424 during the brief occupation of the southern Maremma.
MAREMMA MARKET
Historic market town for the Albegna and Fiora valleys, wine and olive oil from low hills, wild boar and pecorino from the surrounding pastures.
MORELLINO DI SCANSANO
The commune lies inside the Morellino di Scansano DOCG production zone.
Common questions
- What is Manciano known for?
- Manciano is a market town at 444 meters in the southern Maremma, with a Sienese fortress of 1424 and the thermal frazione of Saturnia in its territory.
- Where is Manciano?
- Manciano is a comune in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Manciano?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Rome Fiumicino (FCO), about 1 h 47 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Siena to Manciano?
- About 2 h 10 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Manciano?
- Best in Apr–Oct. July is the warmest month, averaging 31 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Manciano?
- Pitigliano, Subiaco and Oriolo Romano.
- How many people live in Manciano?
- 6,916 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Manciano a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Manciano is a small town that meets 1 of our 2 rules. The nearest city, Grosseto, is 1 h 11 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Pitigliano, 12 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 95% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 444 m
- Population: 6,916
- Surface area: 372.51 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 Manciano appears in
- The prettiest villages in the province of GrossetoGrosseto provinceprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 1,271 residents
- The best hot spring towns worth staying overnight in TuscanyTuscanyhot springsworth staying overnight7 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
- The best towns with a serious restaurant in the province of GrossetoGrosseto provinceserious restaurant7 towns · smallest 3,533 residents
- The best hidden hot spring towns that eat well in TuscanyTuscanyhot springseats wellhidden8 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
- The best wine towns worth staying overnight in TuscanyTuscanywineworth staying overnight8 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
- The best hot spring towns with a serious restaurant in TuscanyTuscanyhot springsserious restaurant10 towns · smallest 1,421 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 52.
Orbetello
Province: Grosseto
A town on a narrow isthmus at the center of its own lagoon, fortified by Spain in 1557.
39 min by car
- Written about. No. 47.
Capalbio
Province: Grosseto
A walled hilltop borgo at 217 meters in the southern Maremma, donated to the Abbey of Tre Fontane by Charlemagne.
41 min by car
The letter
Manciano got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.