| Walls of Grosseto | |
|---|---|
Mura di Grosseto | |
| Grosseto, Tuscany, Italy | |
 Porta Vecchia | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Defensive walls |
| Owner | City of Grosseto |
| Controlled by | Grand Duchy of Tuscany (1565–1859) |
| Open to the public | yes |
| Condition | Well-preserved or intact |
| Location | |
  Walls of Grosseto | |
| Coordinates | 42°45′43″N11°07′03″E / 42.761806°N 11.1175°E /42.761806; 11.1175 |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1565–93 |
| Built by | Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Architects involved:
|
| Materials | Brick |
TheWalls of Grosseto (Italian:mura di Grosseto), known also asMedicean Walls (Italian:mura medicee), are a series ofdefensive brick walls surrounding the city ofGrosseto in Tuscany, Italy.
The city walls, spanning approximately 3 kilometers, form ahexagonal shape and are a notable example of late-Renaissancebastion fort architecture, featuring sixbastions (Rimembranza, Fortezza, Maiano, Cavallerizza, Molino a Vento, Garibaldi), a citadel, andgates.
The fortifications were commissioned byCosimo I de' Medici, after the conquest of theRepublic of Siena and its annexation to theGrand Duchy of Tuscany. The walls were designed by engineer-architectBaldassarre Lanci in 1564. Construction began in 1565 and was completed in 1593. During the 19th century, under the rule ofLeopold II, the walkways of the walls were demilitarized and transformed into gardens and promenades.
The Renaissance walls of Grosseto incorporate two medieval structures from the old Sienese fortifications:Porta Vecchia and theCassero Senese. The walls remain largely intact and are fully walkable, except for a brief section to the north where Porta Nuova was originally located.
From its early days, the city of Grosseto was fortified, and by 953 it was documented as a "curtis cum castrum". At that time, the city had at least two defensive perimeters: a wooden fortification to protect the settlement and another stone fortification for theAldobrandeschi castle.
The original fortifications of Grosseto, which were repeatedly dismantled after the city's submission toSiena in the 13th century, have left no surviving remnants. The Sienese rebuilt the walls, constructing theCassero Senese in 1345. The medieval city walls featured four gates:Porta Cittadina to the south, Porta di San Pietro to the north, Porta di Santa Lucia to the east near the Cassero Senese, and Porta di San Michele to the west.
After the annexation of theRepublic of Siena into theGrand Duchy of Tuscany in the mid-16th century,Cosimo I de' Medici commissioned engineerBaldassarre Lanci to design and build a new city wall. Work on the project began in 1565 under Lanci's direction and continued for nearly thirty years, concluding in 1593. Upon Lanci's death, his son Marino took over the project until 1574, after whichSimone Genga and laterAlessandro Pieroni supervised its completion. During this period, other significant projects were also undertaken to ensure the city's water supply: a series of underground cisterns were built in the city center to collect rainwater and distribute it.
The newhexagonal walls were equipped with substantial defensive bastions at the corners, mostly in a pentagonal shape, each featuring guard posts―known as "garitte" or "casini"―at the outermost points. The Cassero Senese Citadel (Fortezza) was further protected by a pair of smaller inward-facing bastions. Today, service galleries, storage rooms, and smaller defensive structures are still preserved. The only entrance to the city was from the south, known asPorta Reale, later renamed Porta Vecchia. It was not until 1755, nearly two centuries later, that the northern gate, Porta Nuova, was opened. Until 1757, the walls were surrounded by an externalmoat and an earthen embankment.
UnderLeopold II of Tuscany, nearly all of the small towers and most of the "garitte" were demolished in the first half of the 19th century. This work softened the walls' appearance and transformed the area into a public tree-lined promenade.
In 1933,Porta Corsica was opened to the west, towards the sea. Between 1939 and 1941, theFascist municipal administration demolished a short section of the walls in the Porta Nuova area to expand theCasa del Fascio. In 1943, abombing raid destroyed one of the last remaining "garitte", the Casino delle Palle, located on the Maiano Bastion and containing several frescoes.[1]
