# Maremma: cypresses, hot springs and tuff towns

> 5-day road trip of about 191 km (118 mi) with 7 stops, from Bolgheri cypress avenue to Pitigliano. About 2 h 38 min of driving in total.

Source: https://camping-spirit.com/guides/b1-maremma/

**At a glance:** 5-day road trip of about 191 km (118 mi) with 7 stops, from Bolgheri cypress avenue to Pitigliano. About 2 h 38 min of driving in total. The cypress avenue of Bolgheri, Etruscan tombs by the sea, a wild coastal park, free hot springs and towns carved out of volcanic rock.

| | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 191 km (118 mi) |
| Driving | 2 h 38 min |
| Suggested days | 5 |
| Stops | 7 |
| Route | Bolgheri cypress avenue → Pitigliano |
| Countries | Italy |
| Updated | September 6, 2026 |

## Route description

Leave the Aurelia at San Guido and drive the five-kilometre cypress avenue to the village of Bolgheri, heart of a famous red-wine area. Continue south to the Gulf of Baratti, where Etruscan tombs lie among the pines behind the beach and the walled hamlet of Populonia watches from above.

Head inland to Massa Marittima, an old mining town with a Romanesque cathedral on a sloping piazza, then return to the SS1 Aurelia (E80), a dual carriageway, towards Grosseto. At Alberese, the Maremma Regional Park protects wild coast and hills; in summer part of it is reached only by park bus.

From Grosseto roads cross the rolling countryside to Saturnia, where the hot water of the Cascate del Mulino pours over travertine terraces. It is free and open at all hours, but very busy on summer weekends.

The last stretch reaches the tuff country: Sovana with its Etruscan tombs and the deep sunken roads called vie cave, then Pitigliano, built on the edge of a cliff. The area is quiet in spring and autumn, and motorhome parking areas are common in the towns.

## Stop-by-stop itinerary

1. **Bolgheri cypress avenue** (Castagneto Carducci, Italy): A dead-straight avenue lined with some 2,500 cypresses running five kilometres from the Aurelia to the village of Bolgheri, famous for its red wines.
2. **Baratti and Populonia** (Piombino, Italy): Etruscan tombs beside a curving bay of pine woods, below the hilltop village of Populonia. The archaeological park has short walking trails.
3. **Massa Marittima** (Italy)
4. **Maremma Regional Park** (Alberese, Italy): Wild coast, pine woods and the Uccellina hills, grazed by long-horned cattle. Tickets and trail maps at the Alberese visitor centre; a bus runs to the beach in summer.
5. **Cascate del Mulino, Saturnia** (Manciano, Italy): Free hot springs tumbling over white travertine terraces at about 37 °C. Come early morning or out of season; there is a paid car park beside the pools.
6. **Sovana** (Italy)
7. **Pitigliano** (Italy)