Massa, like Volterra, has been a wealthy mining town since Etruscan times. In 1225, on the heels of a declaration of independence, it passed Europe's first-ever charter for the protection of miners; in the century afterwards, before Siena took over in 1335, its exquisite Duomo went up and the population doubled. The trend was reversed in the sixteenth century, and by 1737, after bouts of plague and malaria, it was a virtual ghost town. Massa gained its "Marittima" suffix in the Middle Ages when it became the leading hill-town of this coastal region, even though the sea is 20km distant across a silty plain. Its recovery began with the draining of coastal marshes in the 1830s.

Blocks of new buildings mar an approach, but the medieval splendour of Piazza Garibaldi , just up from the bus stops, overshadows all that. This exquisite example of Tuscan town planning showcases the thirteenth-century Duomo , set on broad steps at a dramatically oblique angle to the square. The cathedral is dedicated to the sixth-century St Cerbone, whose claim to fame was to persuade a flock of geese to follow him when summoned to Rome on heresy charges. Its airy interior (daily: 8am-noon & 3-6pm) features eleventh-century carvings of grinning, cross-eyed faces - powerful and primitive, in dramatic contrast to the severe, polished Roman sarcophagus nearby. A modest Museo Archeologico occupies the Palazzo del Podesta opposite (April-June Tues-Sun 10am-12.30pm & 3.30-7pm; July & Aug daily 10am-12.30pm & 3.30-7pm; Nov-March closes 5pm; L5000/€2.58) - worth visiting for the town's undisputed masterpiece, a superb Maesta altarpiece by Ambrogio Lorenzetti, coloured in vivid pink, green and tangerine, with Cerbone and his geese lurking in the corner. Off the other side of the piazza is the Centro Espositivo di Arte Contemporanea , Via Goldoni 5 (Tues-Fri 5-7pm, Sat & Sun 11am-1pm & 4-7pm; L3000/€1.55), which includes an engaging collection of late-nineteenth-century painting.

Otherwise, barring a couple of limited-interest museums devoted to mining, aim for the picturesque lane Via Moncini, which climbs steeply to the quiet Gothic upper town : as you emerge beneath an impressive but militarily useless arch onto Piazza Matteotti , facing you is the Torre del Candeliere , part of the thirteenth-century Fortilizio Senese . The tower is climbable for a stupendous panorama (summer daily 11am-1pm & 3.30-7.30pm; L3000/€1.55).