Grosseto in May

Tuesday brings rain, as forecast, so we stay in during the morning and have an early lunch before driving to Grosseto. Here, parking is easy just below the walls of the historical centre in Piazza Arcieri. From here it's just a few minutes stroll to the beginning of Corso Cavour which takes us to the main square of Grosseto, Piazza Dante where there's the Duomo and the statue of Leopoldo the Canapone which symbolises the defeat of malaria in the Grosseto area.

We are in search of coffee and find a nice place under the porticoes, the people are friendly but the cappuccino is only lukewarm. We need warming up, as we sit drinking there's a brief but violent deluge which sends the few tourists scurrying for cover.

The Duomo is beautiful for the façade, and also for the side facing the square and the statue. Pale pale pink stone with stripes of a darker pink stone, it tones in perfectly with the square while maintaining its aesthetic superiority. Inside there are two fine stained glass windows and a finely carved baptismal font, while the most interesting painting, "Madonna delle Grazie” (1470) by Matteo di Giovanni, is being restored.

We stroll through the centre and end up at the walls. Steps take us up to the tree lined walk along the walls. Each 'bastione" hosts a green area and it makes a pleasant walk with views over the city. Back down some steps we go through the Archeological garden (with a small garden of pollen-rich plants to encourage bees) to the church of San Francesco. It, too, is open. Here, the highlight is undoubtedly the  Crucifix (1285) attributed to Duccio di Boninsegna, or the Sienese Maestro di Badia a Isola. In any case, it's beautiful. There are some large and nice medieval frescoes including Saint Cristoforo. The right chapel has some 17th century frescoes whereas on the left side a door takes us to the cloister with the sixteenth-century Pozzo della Bufala. We linger a while to look at the parrots.

Grosseto is small but nice, there are many narrow streets, some decorated with plants and flowers and we have a last stroll before going back to the car to stop at Pam supermarket in Follonica on the way back to the apartment to stock up on a few things to take home.