Once upon a time, many people lived here! Boccheggiano - Italy

---

Hello, my dearest friends,

With today's post, I should be able to complete all the villages I wanted to share here. This time, I’m taking you to discover Boccheggiano, a hamlet of the Municipality of Montieri in the Province of Grosseto. It’s a beautiful village located atop one of the Metalliferous Hills overlooking the Merse River Valley.

Certainly, what struck me the most about this place is its altitude—about 700 meters above sea level. I find this particularly important, especially in summer. Here, you surely won’t suffer from the heat. And, as you can see from the first photos I’ve shared, it is completely surrounded by nature, which is undoubtedly a great advantage.

The village is about 45 km from Grosseto, around 40 km from Siena, and roughly 25 km from the sea as the crow flies. This significantly influences its climate, as I mentioned. Here, you’ll find cool summers and mild winters, with the nearby sea playing a crucial role in shaping the weather.

As soon as I started my usual walk, I was immediately captivated this time by the stone houses—let's call them rustic, not particularly polished or refined. But honestly, I like them a lot just as they are.
From the other photos I’ve taken, you can see that the village has a very medieval layout. In fact, it is believed to have origins dating back to between 1000 and 1100 AD. Before that, there was likely an Etruscan settlement. Around the year 1000, a castle was built, and the village developed around it.

Sometimes, I get chills thinking about how many years these walls have stood, walls I can now touch with my hands.
Naturally, the interior of the village is a maze of narrow streets. Those who follow my other posts know very well that in these villages, every bit of space was used, whether for building houses or roads.

The most recent data indicates that around 400 people currently live in Boccheggiano. However, in the past, many more people lived here, primarily working in the nearby mines, which sustained the local economy for many years.

Unfortunately, during my visit, the weather wasn’t great—I even got caught in the rain. I hardly encountered anyone on the streets because it was quite cold and, as I mentioned, the weather was unpleasant.

Still, it was always wonderful and interesting for me to explore these places. I also found the Parish Church of San Bartolomeo, which, unfortunately, was closed. In this village as well, I discovered that someone of importance had once lived here.

I hope the photos have been interesting and that they’ve transported you on this virtual journey with me. As always, I’ll see you in my next post, and I wish you all a lovely day!

[//]:# ([//]:# (!worldmappin 43.09107 lat 11.03461 long d3scr))