Manciano Manciano lies between the valleys of the Fiora and
the Albegna rivers. The first traces of its existence date back to
Aldobrandeschi land deeds in 973 AD, and it developed as a town towards the end
of the 13th Century. The Aldobrandeschi family began building the surrounding
walls in this period, and an imposing fort at the top of the hill which still
bears their name. It is a huge quadrangular fort, with typical castle
battlements and a mighty tower, the Cassero, which is the oldest part of the
castle and dates back to about 1350. There is Ancient History Museum with the
remains of the 300,000 year old teeth of an Elephans Antiquus (related to the
Mammuth), together with numerous lithic relics, all proof of the presence of
Homo erectus atleast 500 thousand years ago and two valuable axes from the
Bronze period.
On the road from Manciano to Pitigliano is the site of Poggio Buco, probably identifiable with the roman city of Statonia: with blocks of the remaining wall stretching for about 3 kilometers. Outside the city is a sacred area of with a temple and various buildings. These are surrounded by an impressive necropolis, with a variety of different kinds of tombs.
