Monte Argentario is a '' comune'' (municipality) and a peninsula belonging to the Province of Grosseto in the Italian region Tuscany, located about south of Florence and about south of Grosseto. The peninsula is connected with the mainland by three spits of land which form two lagoons, the ''Laguna di Ponente'' on the west side and the ''Laguna di Levante'' on the east side of the middle dam. The two main villages on Monte Argentario are Porto Santo Stefano, chief town, facing north, and

Porto Ercole Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is one of the two major towns that form the township, along with Porto Santo Stefano. Its name means "Port Hercules". Ge ...

facing south. The panoramic road ''Strada panoramica'' starts in Porto Santo Stefano allowing splendid views of the coast and the Tuscan Archipelago. Monte Argentario borders the ''comune'' of Orbetello, which is located on the middle dam between the two lagoons.

Geography

Monte Argentario is a promontory stretching towards the Tyrrhenian Sea in correspondence of the two southernmost islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, Giglio and Giannutri. The promontory was an island in the past, but the sea currents and the Albegna river joined it with the mainland through two so-called tomboli (stretches of land), the Tombolo of Giannella and the Tombolo of the Feniglia. The highest peak of Monte Argentario is the Punta Telegrafo at above sea level. The landscape and the coast are mainly rocky, with numerous harbors, usually with rock beaches. The municipal seat is in the northern settlement, Porto Santo Stefano. The other main settlement in the township is

. Argentarola cave lies close to Argentario promontory. The high quality speleothems that have been collected from this cave have allowed scientists to study the 215,000 year history of sea-level oscillations in this region.

History

The promontory, probably already inhabited by the Etruscans, was a personal property of the Domitii Ahenobarbi family, who obtained it in return for the money they lent to the Roman Republic in the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

. The current name probably finds its origin here, since '' Argentarii'' was the name of money lenders in ancient Rome. Later an imperial possession, it was ceded to the church by

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

in the 4th century AD. In the Middle Ages, due to the reduced traffic passing on the nearby

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 ...

, the area was sparsely settled. In the heart of the Middle Ages, the promontory became a possession of the Monastery of San Paolo in Rome. It represented in the so-called Carolingian Gate at the Monastery of St. Anastius outside Rome. Following the history of Orbetello, the promontory was a possession of the Aldobrandeschi, the Orsini, King Ladislaus of Naples and Siena, until Spain acquired it in the late 16th century. The Spaniards heavily fortified the two ports, as the main stronghold of the

State of Presidi The State of the ''Presidi'' ( it, Stato dei Presidi,. In french: État des Présides. Dhondt uses "Tuscan ''presidia''". meaning "state of the garrisons") was a small territory in Italy between 1557 and 1801. It consisted of the remnants of t ...

. In 1815, after

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's defeat, the Argentario was handed over to the

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

, to which it belonged until 1860, when it became part of the newly united Kingdom of Italy. The painter Michelangelo Merisi, known as

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi (Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi) da Caravaggio, known as simply Caravaggio (, , ; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the final four years of hi ...

, died of a fever at Porto Ercole in 1610. During World War II, the settlements of Argentario were heavily bombed, with numerous losses. The port of Santo Stefano was destroyed, and was rebuilt only in the 1950s. The railway that connected Orbetello to the mainland was never rebuilt.

Main sights

*''Monastery of the Presentation'' and Punta Telegrafo. *''Rocca Spagnola'' (Spanish Fortress), in Porto Santo Stefano. *''Forte Filippo ''and ''Forte Stella'', in Porto Ercole. *The church of St. Erasmus, in the historical centre of Porto Ercole, not far from the ''Porta Pisana''. *The ''Via panoramica'' (Panoramic Road), running alongside the coast. *

Argentario Aquarium The Argentario Aquarium also called Acquario mediterraneo della Costa d'Argento is a mediterranean public aquarium in Italy. It is located in Monte Argentario on the frazione of Porto Santo Stefano Porto Santo Stefano () is a seaport town on the ...

Notable people

(1571–1610), artist * Paul of the Cross (1694–1775), mystic, and founder of the Passionists * Susanna Agnelli (1922–2009), politician, former mayor of Monte Argentario *

Juliana of the Netherlands Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Sh ...

(1909–2004), Queen of the Netherlands *

Benedetta Barzini Benedetta Barzini (born 22 September 1943 in Porto Santo Stefano)BENEDETTA BARZINI
VOGUE ...

(born 1943), actress and model * Giorgetto Giugiaro (born 1938), designer *

Jessica Brando Jessica Brando (born Jessica Vitelli 6 December 1994) is an Italian singer. Biography Born in Grosseto, Tuscany, Jessica started singing at the age of five, studying for her own fun on great singers from the past like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzg ...

(born 1994), singer *

Luca Coscioni Luca Coscioni (16 July 1967 – 20 February 2006) was an Italian economist and politician. He was a professor of Environmental Economics at Università della Tuscia (Italy) who engaged very actively in the social and political spheres with t ...

(1967–2006), economist and politician * Angelo Cardinal Comastri (born 1943), Bishop of Massa Marittima-Piombino, later named cardinal *

Pino Luongo Giuseppe "Pino" Luongo (born 1952/1953) is an American-based Italian restaurateur, businessman, and memoirist. He owned or co-owned current and former restaurants including Il Cantinori, Le Madri, Centolire, Coco Pazzo (New York and Chicago), Co ...

(born 1953), New York restaurateur; cookbook writer and memoirist *

Jorge Chaminé Jorge Chaminé (born 30 April 1956) is a Portuguese operatic baritone. Biography Of Spanish and Portuguese parentage, Chaminé was born in Porto. He began his musical studies (piano, voice, cello, guitar, choral and orchestra conducting) at a ...

(born 1956), baritone * Guido Carli (1914–93), banker, economist and politician * Giangiacomo Feltrinelli (1926–1972), publisher * Rossana Podestà (1934–2013), actress * Olin Stephens (1908–2008), American yacht designer * Andrei Sakharov (1921–89), Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist *

Don Lurio Donald Benjamin Lurio, better known by his stage name of Don Lurio (15 November 1929, in New York City – 26 January 2003, in Rome) was an American-born Jewish Italian dancer, choreographer and TV presenter for RAI, the Italian radio and television ...

, (1929–2003), dancer, choreographer and presenter *

Amintore Fanfani Amintore Fanfani (; 6 February 1908 – 20 November 1999) was an Italian politician and statesman, who served as 32nd prime minister of Italy for five separate terms. He was one of the best-known Italian politicians after the Second World War an ...

(1908–99), economist and politician * Raffaella Carrà (1943–2021), singer, dancer, television presenter, and actress.

References

External links