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Welcome to the The Massa Marittima Mine Museum, one of the ten museums, parks, and monuments in the town and surrounding area that have been turned into museums to make up the the town's museum network. The museum came into existence at the start of the 1980s, when the mines, though in a period of decline, were still partially active. For a long time it was the only institution celebrating the mining heritage of the Colline Metallifere (this name literally means Metalliferous Hills).

Welcome to the The Massa Marittima Mine Museum, one of the ten museums, parks, and monuments in the town and surrounding area that have been turned into museums to make up the the town's museum network. The museum came into existence at the start of the 1980s, when the mines, though in a period of decline, were still partially active. For a long time it was the only institution celebrating the mining heritage of the Colline Metallifere (this name literally means Metalliferous Hills). The museum follows 700 metres of tunnels winding their way through the travertine hillside that overlooks the old town centre. These tunnels, partly natural and partly excavated during the mediaeval to extract building stone, were enlarged during the Second World War and used as air raid shelters. The museum uses objects, tools, and abandoned machinery salvaged by ex-miners from closing mines, to reproduce a mine setting that represents conditions from the start of the 1900s to the 1960s-70s. In order to ensure the salvage, conservation, and appreciation of the mining heritage present throughout the Colline Metallifere area, a national technological and archaeological park encompassing the area was set-up in the year 2000, and is one of the first thematic national parks created by the Ministry for the Environment. The history of this area is inextricably linked to the mines and all the activities connected with them. The distinctive landscape interspersed with archaeological discoveries, industrial heritage and environmental resources, has been shaped by the mining industry. In the Massa Marittima area the earliest archaeological finds date back 5000 years to the Copper Age, and continue through the whole Etruscan period. Many can be seen in the archaeological museum. Mining activities came to a peak during the Mediaeval: the town became a Free Territory in 1225, and was commonly known as Massa Metallorum because of the enormous wealth generated by its mineral deposits. The municipality even minted its own currency, the silver "Grosso Massetano", and it became a very important town, reaching a population of 10,000. Today it is little more than half that size. The corpus of mineral extraction regulations known as the "Codice Minerario" or mining code, dates back to this period, and is one of the oldest in Europe. From the mid-14th century to the start of the 19th century, the town and the surrounding area went through a long period of decline until mining activities were re-established by Leopold II grand duke of Tuscany: geological prospecting recommenced, new pyrite and lignite mines were excavated, and the mineral extraction industry once more brought wealth to the town. Mining continued up until the end of the 1980s when the mines entered a period of decline due to the high costs of the extraction process. As the mines were being closed down the first salvage operations and activities to valorise the local mining legacy were initiated, this museum is a fine example of this.

Massa Marittima

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