Discover Caldana: Churches, Marble and Local History

Caldana stretches across the last of the Metalliferous Hills before the Maremma plain. The town’s history includes religious buildings from different centuries and the extraction of natural stone. If you choose a hotel destination based on your cultural interests, this combination offers a concrete starting point: you can explore architectural history and visible traces of quarrying as distinct themes of the town.

Landscape and Natural Stone

Northwest of Caldana, the Cave “Marmo Rosso” di Caldana quarries remain clearly visible; natural stone was extracted there until 1975. The quarries are therefore part of both the visible landscape and the history of past extraction. The end date places this activity in time and highlights the difference between the quarries still visible today and the discontinued extraction.

A distinctive feature is the pink ornamental stone known in Caldana as Portasanta. It has been quarried since at least the 16th century. In addition, marble from Caldana was used in numerous architectural monuments in the province of Grosseto, as well as in Pisa, Siena, Florence, Rome and Berlin. The local quarries and the use of Caldana marble in various places thus offer two different perspectives on the history of the material: its extraction and its use in architecture.

Churches and Their Architectural History

At the end of the borgo stands the Oratorio di Sant’Antonio, a small church dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. The Casa Canonica dates from the 13th century. It was the former Pieve di San Biagio, the town’s old church, before the Tempio di San Biagio was built at the end of the 16th century. This sequence shows that Caldana’s religious architectural history spans several periods.

The Church of San Biagio in Caldana has a façade with Ionic pilasters in the upper section and Doric pilasters in the lower section, as well as a central rose window. The different arrangement of the pilasters and the window in the middle give the façade a clearly structured design. Inside, the church contains a baptismal font made of Portasanta marble. This links a specific furnishing to the pink ornamental stone quarried in Caldana.

Palazzo Austini and the Convent

The Palazzo signorile Austini dates from the 16th century and was the old palace of the Austini, the lords of the castle. Here, the former rule of the Austini takes centre stage alongside the town’s religious architectural history. The building date and historical function place the palazzo within a different strand of the town’s history from the former pieve and the temple built later.

Only a little remains of the former convent. The surviving features include the entrance door and the corridor of the upper cells. In the case of the convent, the focus is therefore on specific parts of the former complex, while for the Casa Canonica and the palazzo, their former functions and historical context are most significant.

Caldana as a Destination for Your Stay

For choosing a destination, the distinction can be summed up briefly: with the churches and the palazzo, the focus is on the time of construction and former function; with the quarries and marble, it is on the extraction and use of the material. If you are looking for a hotel in Caldana, this comparison can help you match the destination’s cultural focus to your interests.

Discover more destinations: Giuncarico, Bivio Di Ravi, Bagno Di Gavorrano, Ravi.

Return to the main travel overview: Gavorrano.