Rocca San Silvestro

Rocca San Silvestro is an excavated medieval mining village in the hills near Campiglia Marittima. The remains include a castle, workers' houses, a church, a cemetery and industrial spaces, offering a rare view of a community organised around mining and metalworking.

Why it matters

Founded by the Counts Della Gherardesca, the settlement grew with the mining of copper, lead and silver in the surrounding hills. Its remains preserve the relationship between the ruling household, the mining community and the work that supported them.

What to notice

The village rises in layers across the hillside: industrial areas lower down, housing above them, then the church, cemetery and castle. A reconstructed medieval stone house near the fortress helps convey the scale and form of the dwellings found across the site.

Context and history

The village was abandoned during the fourteenth century as its mining economy declined. Archaeological excavations began in 1984 through a project led by the University of Siena and European university partners. The Parco Archeominerario di San Silvestro opened in 1996, and the restored site was presented to the public in 2008.