Argentario
Monte Argentario is amongst the most famous locations in the Maremma and perhaps all of Tuscany. Its natural beauty and vast facilities make it a major tourist attraction all year round.
The rocky cliffs, which surround the Promontory, are covered in Mediterranean scrub, olive groves and the many vineyards which produce such excellent wines as the Ansonica and the Riminese.
The island was originally known as the Insula Matidiae, named after the Roman Emperor Trajan’s niece. However after centuries of sand drift, it eventually became connected to the Tyrrenian coast by two sand bars, the Tombolo della Feniglia to the south and the Tombolo della Giannella to the north. It was called Promontorio Cosano for the Roman colony of 273 B.C., Cosa.
The name Argentario was first mentioned with the name in a poem “De reditu” by Rutilio Namaziano (5th century A.D.).
The name may derive from the lustre of the micaceous rock or from the position as bankers held by the Roman family of the Domizi Enobardi who owned the promontory.
After a long period of abandonment, both the Pisans and the Sienese fortified it to defend the coast from Saracen raids. Later Spain incorporated both Porto Ercole and Porto Santo Stefano into its fortification plan, creating the Stato dei Presidi (Garrison State).
