Laid-back Luxury in Tuscany

Montieri and its surrounding villages have historically been one of the most important areas in this region for two main reasons – mining and language. The town sits upon the ‘colline metallifere’ (ore hills) which have been mined for various minerals since the Etruscan times. The area is also considered the birthplace of the Italian language that we know today.

Mining Heritage

The Etruscans began mining in this area for silver, which was abundant in this territory. In 10^th century, the competing powers of Volterra, Siena, Florence and the Imperial power battled for the rich subsoil that lay beneath us, leading to a period of economic prosperity which reached its peak in the 13^th century. Here, the bishop of Volterra founded the local mint where a famous silver coin called ‘Grosso’ was minted.

The Origin of the Italian Language

On to the language: The famous ‘Breve di Montieri’ was written in 1219. This statute was the oldest of its kind written in Italian (traditionally statutes were written in Latin), and contained orders established and sworn by the same inhabitants of the castle governing Travale who eventually formed the constitutional unity of the future municipality. This document is considered to represent the first evidence of the forming of the Italian language.  

Giacomo Papocchi – The Patron Saint of Montieri

In 1242 a young local miner called Giacomo Papocchi was accused of stealing silver from the mines. He was sentenced to an amputation of his right hand and left foot. The historical consensus reached, however, is that Giacomo was not a thief. He was simply a ‘Montierino’, who like any good and true ‘Montierino’, rebelled against the oppressive exploitation of the influential powers in Volterra and Siena. Giacomo sook to expunge his crime in the eyes of his God and concluded that the best way to do so would be to imprison himself in a cell near the church overhanging the village. He repented in this way for 46 years. He died a holy death on December the 28^th, 1289, and became the patron saint of the village.

Mining Recommences

In the 14^th century, the silver began to run out. Montieri entered a dark time until the second half of the 18^th century, when a famous minerologist, Giovanni Arduino, discovered copper here and opened a few mines, including Carbonaie located by Prategiano in Montieri. Mining once again boomed in the early 1900’s when Montecatini S.p.A. began digging up copper, and later, pyrite. This led to another economic boom for the area, a railway was built to transport ore from Montieri to Piombino, where it was processed. The remnants of this railway can still be seen today.

The future of Montieri

The last mine, in Campiano, closed its doors in 1994. Campiano is close to the town of Boccheggiano and visible from the hotel. Since then, Montieri has been in a period of transition. Many young people have fled in the past 30 odd years to greener pastures in the cities, where jobs could be found. 

However, more recently things have started to look up again. Tourism has grown thanks to its natural beauty, with new agriturismi and hotels cropping up regularly, and services have grown in line with this. Campiano has been bought by a number of entrepreneurs and is being turned into a helicopter storage, bakery and more. Montieri was also the pioneer of the famous ‘1 euro’ programme, where it sold its houses for a euro (with a commitment to refurbish the property) to entice people to return to the town and improve the state of its buildings, which led to many ex-locals and their decendants returning to spend summers and holidays here. 

Overall, the future is bright for this amazing little corner of the world, and we have completely fallen in love with it. Our dream is to see it grow to heights unseen even when silver filled its hillsides.