The Bastione Maiano in Grosseto is also known as Baluardo delle Palle. Its most striking feature is the huge Medici coat of arms. It was built in the second half of the 16th century.
Bastione Maiano Grosseto
History and description
The designer of the original bastion was Baldassarre Lanci.
When the first aqueduct was built in Grosseto in 1872, people used the bastion as a storage place for almost 7,000 hectoliters of water. Until the aqueduct was built, only containers and wells had been used.
It is from this time on that the bastion was called “Maiano”, after the source of the water, a small river in the municipality of Scansano.
In 1943, the bastion was badly damaged by bombing. In the process, a “bullet house” that stood on the bastion disappeared. This diminutive building had six sides, just like the city walls. The city walls also had six towers and the Medici coat of arms depicted six bullets.