Follonica () is a town and ''

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 ...

'' (township) of

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 Gro ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region of

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, on the Gulf of Follonica (''Golfo di Follonica''), about northwest of the city of

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 ...

History

It was founded in 1834 by Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany for the workers of a new ironworks plant. However, the area was already settled in Etruscan and Roman times, and a medieval castle (''Castello di Valli''), whose ruins overlook now the modern town from a nearby hill, existed since at least 884. Until 1923 it was 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

Massa Marittima Massa Marittima (Latin: ''Massa Veternensis'') is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Grosseto, southern Tuscany, Italy, 49 km NNW of Grosseto. There are mineral springs, mines of iron, mercury, lignite and copper, with foundries, iron ...

Economy

Tourism

Follonica is a tourist site during the summer, mostly visited by the Italians themselves. The city has been awarded the ''Bandiera Blu'' (" Blue Flag") every year from 2000 to 2007 for the cleanliness of its beaches and

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appr ...

Government

List of mayors

Main sights

*Church of San Leopoldo, built by will of duke Leopold II of Tuscany starting from 1836 *Castle of Valli, built in the 8th century as residence of the bishops of Lucca; later it was owned by the

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 ...

who, in the 13th century, sold it to the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

. In the 14th century it was a fortress of the

Principality of Piombino The Lordship of Piombino (''Signoria di Piombino''), and after 1594 the Principality of Piombino (''Principato di Piombino''), was a small state on the Italian peninsula centred on the city of Piombino and including part of the island of Elba. ...

until, in 1815, it became part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. *''Pievaccia'', remains of a large fortified medieval monastery.

Sport

USD Follonica Gavorrano born of the merger between the teams of

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 ...

and Follonica, militant in

Serie D The Serie D () is the top level of semi-professional football in the country. The fourth tier of the Italian league system, the competition sits beneath the third professional league, Serie C. It is administered by the Lega Nazionale Dilettant ...

Transports

;Road 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 Cla ...

highway (''SS 1''), which runs from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to the Franco-Italian border, passes close by the city. ;Train The

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

linking Reggio Calabria in the south and

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...

in the north runs through the city, providing direct railway connections to the cities of

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, Pisa and La Spezia, among others.

Sister cities

* Charleroi,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

* Kołobrzeg,

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Hedemora Hedemora is a town in Dalarna County and the seat of Hedemora Municipality, Sweden, with 7,273 inhabitants in 2010. Despite its small population, Hedemora is for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''city'', and as such the oldes ...

, Sweden

References

External links

Municipality of Follonica

Coastal towns in Tuscany Populated places established in 1834 1834 establishments in Italy Follonica {{Grosseto-geo-stub