Potassa is a village in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, central

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, administratively a

frazione A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...

of the

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

Gavorrano Gavorrano is a mountain-side ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Grosseto in the western Italian region of Tuscany, located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Florence and about 25 km (16 mi) northwest of Grosseto. Gav ...

province of Grosseto The province of Grosseto ( it, links=no, provincia di Grosseto) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Grosseto. As of 2013 the province had a total population of 225,098 people. Geography The Province of Gros ...

. At the time of the 2001 census its population amounted to 160.

Geography

Potassa is about 30 km from

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the Province of Grosseto. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, in the Maremma, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the Ombrone river. It is the m ...

and 7 km from

, and it is situated in a plain at the foot of the hills of Monte Calvo and Poggio Moscatello, down the

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion.Sovata Sovata (; hu, Szováta; Hungarian pronunciation: ) is a town in Mureș County, Transylvania, Romania. Three villages are administered by the town: Căpeți (''Kopac''), Ilieși (''Illyésmező''), and Săcădat (''Szakadát''). In 2004, the vill ...

History

Potassa was born in the 19th century as an industrial centre related to the mines of Gavorrano. Its name comes from

potassium carbonate Potassium carbonate is the inorganic compound with the formula K2 CO3. It is a white salt, which is soluble in water. It is deliquescent, often appearing as a damp or wet solid. Potassium carbonate is mainly used in the production of soap and gl ...

(''potassa'' in Italian).Alberto Prunetti, ''Potassa'', Viterbo, Stampa Alternativa, 2004.

Transportation

The village is positioned along the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...

highway and easily reached from the Tirrenica railway line thanks to its own station, as the main railway station of the ''comune'' — for this reason, Potassa is also known as ''Gavorrano Scalo'' ("scalo" means "station").

References

Frazioni of Gavorrano Railway towns in Italy {{Grosseto-geo-stub