Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
of
Monte Argentario
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 thre ...
, in the
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 ...
,
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 ...
. It is one of the two major towns that form the township, along with
Porto Santo Stefano
Porto Santo Stefano () is a seaport town on the west coast of Italy, in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is the municipal seat of Monte Argentario and one of the two major towns that form the townshi ...
. Its name means "Port
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
".
Geography
The resort is located on the eastern side of Monte Argentario
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
, and is 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 ...
, from
Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.
History
Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlemen ...
and about from Porto Santo Stefano. To the north of Porto Ercole are located the
Laguna di Orbetello and the
Tombolo
A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as ''ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island become ...
della Feniglia.
History
Porto Ercole was first mentioned in 1296, when Margherita
Aldobrandeschi
The Aldobrandeschi were an Italian noble family from southern Tuscany.
Overview
Of probable Lombard origin, they appear in history as counts in the 9th century. The first known count was Hildebrand II (857). Their possession extended to what i ...
, countess of
Sovana
Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a ''frazione'' of Sorano, a comune in the province of Grosseto.
History
Etruscan by origin, Sovana became a Roman ''municipium'', and, from the 5th century, an episcopal see.
Conquered by Lomba ...
, ordered the construction of a tower named ''Torre di Terra'', the oldest core of the town.
[Municipal history of Monte Argentario]
/ref>
In 1610, the Italian Baroque painter 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 ...
, exiled by the Pope, died in Porto Ercole on his way back to Rome and was buried in a local church. The Dutch Royal Family
The monarchy of the Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy. As such, the role and position of the monarch are governed by the Constitution of the Netherlands. Consequently, a large portion of it is devoted to the monarch. Roughly a third of ...
maintained a summer residence here in the latter half of the twentieth century.
Transportation
Porto Ercole was once connected by rail to Orbetello
Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. It is located about south of Grosseto, on the eponymous lagoon, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.
History
Orbetello was an ancient Etruscan settlemen ...
via a small rail line to Porto Santo Stefano, closed in 1944. The former station, named Porto Ercole-Terrarossa, was located 4 km from the town, in the hamlet of Terrarossa.
It counts two harbours: Porto Vecchio, the old town's port, and Cala Galera, located in a northern bay.
Twin towns
* 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 ...
, Italy; since 1973[Infos at tuscanytravels.info]
Photogallery
File:Porto Ercole - Vista fortezza dalla rocca.JPG, View of the town and, upon the hill, the fortress named ''Forte Filippo''
File:Forte Stella Porto Ercole (GR).jpg, ''Forte Stella''
File:Porto Ercole - Porta della rocca. Rest.jpg, ''Porta di Porto Ercole''
See also
*Porto Santo Stefano
Porto Santo Stefano () is a seaport town on the west coast of Italy, in the municipality of Monte Argentario, in the Province of Grosseto, Tuscany. It is the municipal seat of Monte Argentario and one of the two major towns that form the townshi ...
*Battle of Orbetello
The Battle of Orbetello, also known as the Battle of Isola del Giglio, was a major naval engagement of the Franco-Spanish War of 1635. It was fought on 14 June 1646 off the Spanish-ruled town of Orbetello, on the coast of Tuscany, Italy, betwee ...
*Yacht Club Santo Stefano
The Yacht Club Santo Stefano (YCSS) is a sport club founded in 1960. The first clubhouse was an old brig, called ''Spluga'', moored in the harbor of Porto Santo Stefano, in Italy. This original home, over the years became the meeting place of many ...
* Forte La Rocca Lighthouse
Forte La Rocca Lighthouse ( it, Faro di Forte La Rocca) is an active lighthouse located next to the tip of the promontory of the Monte Argentario, Argentario on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Description
The lighthouse, built in 1862, consists of a cylindri ...
References
External links
Porto Ercole official website
Monte Argentario official website
{{Authority control
Coastal towns in Tuscany
Frazioni of Monte Argentario
Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy