A small town of the Maremma and the "Costa d'Argento", Orbetello extends along a natural isthmus which separates two bays of the lagoon to which it owes its name and is connected to Argentario by a long bridge. An ancient Neolithic settlement, it prospered under the Etruscans from the 7th century BC. It was an important lagoon port until the foundation of Cosa (Ansedonia). It was handed over by Charlemagne (805) to the Roman Abbey of Tre Fontane. 

 

After 1557, Orbetello was the capital of the Spanish territories which included Porto Ercole, Porto Santo Stefano, Talamone and Porto Azzurro in Elba. Built in the 14th century on ancient roman and etruscan ruins, the Duomo dell'Assunta was converted in the 17th century. The travertine facade is Gothic, adorned by an embrasured door, above which is a rose crowned by a niche (with a bust of San Benedetto). The Baroque interior holds a pre-Romanesque altar clth dating to the 9th century. Opposite the Duomo, in the former Orsoline convent, is the pediment of the temple of Talamone, of Etruscan origin, portraying the myth of Oedipus.

Province: Grosseto. Alt.: 3 m - Inhab.: 14946.