The town of Roccastrada is in the province of Grosseto at 480 m. a.s.l. of altitude and it has a population of about 9,000 inhabitants. It is set at the centre of an area characterized by mineral resources and by many watercourses and it keeps numerous testimonies of its Medieval history.

The area of Roccastrada became a very yearned mining centre by the nearby Etruscan cities of Vetulonia and Rosselle. The latter could include the town's territory within its jurisdiction. Yet, the growing iron and steel industry experienced decadence when the Romans conquered Roselle (294 b.C.). In effect, they already have their own commercial network for the import of metals and therefore they showed little interest in the mines of the area of Grosseto.
Later, Roccastrada was involved in the crisis of the agrarian Etruscan economy and in the consequent depopulation of the region, after which the paludification the inhabitants later tried to defeat took place. Only the most hilly area seems to resist to the population decrease, but in the IV century a.D., already, Rosselle itself was little more than a village and its progressive decadence led it to lose both the title of town in the Middle Ages and the title of Episcopal seat, later given to Grosseto in 1138.
Yet, there are some references to Roccastrada dating to remotest times. In 787 a territorial division ordered by Charles the Great set the territory corresponding to the modern town between the limit with Northern Tuscia, administered by the empire, and Southern Tuscia, that was ceded to pope Adriano I. At this time, the Lombard dynasty of the Aldobrandeschi became the rulers of Roccastrada. They took advantage of the status of the territory, set within both the imperial and papal jurisdiction, to benefit the whole area.
The period of "incastellamento" of all the territories in Maremma corresponded to the dominion of the Aldobrandeschi. The castle of Roccastrada was first cited in 1118 with the name of "Rocca di Fabiano", but some medieval villages of the modern town, such as Montemassi, date to previous times. In this period, the feudal Maremma of the Aldobrandeschi, yet, was excluded from the economic growth and from the commercial expansion the rest of Tuscany was experiencing.
The Republic of Siena became the new ruler of Roccastrada's territory in the XIV century. Unfortunately, this was not a lucky time in Tuscany that had severely been affected by famine and plague epidemics, the one of 1348 being the worst. The general weakening of Siena involved all its territories and allowed Florence to become more powerful inside its borders from an economic and political point of view. By the half of the XVI century, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany had conquered all the dominions of Siena.
The little interest of the Medici in Maremma induced many local rulers to concede privileges and autonomous statutes to the various castles. The population of Roccastrada benefited from it, too, especially thanks to the civil use of lands and pastures. Since 1738, when the Lorraine got the power in Tuscany, Roccastrada finally experienced a phase of growth and development, thanks to the "enlightened" Leopoldine reforms, to the first important reclamations and to the recovery of the iron and steel industry. This is to be added to a revaluation of the forest stand of the town which uses its timber resources in the commerce of railway sleepers.