The Viterbo maremma

Apparently the word "maremma" comes from the Latin "maritima", meaning the coastal area between Agro Cerite (Cerveteri, Rome) and Tuscany as far as the area facing the island of Elba (Cecina), with a natural extension onwards to the pontine plains to the south of Rome. Together with the latter this coastal strip forms a homogeneous environment that has maintainedsimilar traditions, lifestyles and economies over the centuries. The first attempts at draining the marshes were made by the Etruscans and the latest efforts were made during the first decades of the twentieth century when the fascist government’s economic and demographic policies promoted a series of interventions, including the founding of new townships. The drained marshlands, having defeated the spectre of malaria are still fertile, productive farmland.