Orbetello is a town and ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' in the
province of Grosseto
The province of Grosseto () is a Provinces of Italy, 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 Grosseto completely ...
(
Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence.
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...
),
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. It is located about south of
Grosseto, on the
Lagoon of Orbetello, which is home to an important Natural Reserve.
History
Orbetello was an ancient
Etruscan settlement, which in 280 BC passed under the control of the
Romans, who had founded their colony of
Cosa (near the modern
Ansedonia).
The emperor
Domitian
Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...
had a substantial property here, which had belonged to the Domitii Ahenobarbi and he inherited through his wife
Domitia Longina
Domitia Longina ( 50–55 – 126–130s AD) was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lami ...
. He also built other sumptuous villas nearby for his courtiers.
In the Middle Ages it was a possession of the
Aldobrandeschi
The Aldobrandeschi family was 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 t ...
family, who held it until the 14th century, when it was acquired by the city of
Orvieto
Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
. After several struggles with the
Orsini of
Pitigliano and Orvieto, in the following centuries Orbetello was captured by the
Sienese Republic. In the mid-16th century it was part of the
State of Presides, a Spanish possession, becoming its capital.
The town was besieged by the French during the
1635-1659 Franco-Spanish War. This led to the inconclusive naval
Battle of Orbetello on 14 June; in July, a Spanish army forced the French to lift the siege.
After the fall of the
Republic of Siena
The Republic of Siena (, ) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, Central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its existence, it gradually expanded throughout south ...
, when the territory of Siena passed to Tuscany,
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
retained Orbetello,
Talamone,
Monte Argentario and the island of
Giannutri until 1713, under the name of the . There remained many Spanish names among the inhabitants of Orbetello. In 1713 this district passed by treaty to the emperor, in 1736 to the king of the two Sicilies, in 1801 to the
kingdom of Etruria
The Kingdom of Etruria ( ; ) was an Italian kingdom between 1801 and 1807 that made up a large part of modern Tuscany. It took its name from Etruria, the old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans.
History
The kingdom was created by the ...
, and in 1814 to the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany (; ) was an Italian monarchy located in Central Italy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1860, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In the 19th century the population ...
.
It formed part of the Grand Duchy until 1860, when it joined the newly
unified Kingdom of Italy.
In 1927–33,
Italo Balbo's "air cruises" started from Orbetello's lagoon. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the
German Air Force's 2nd Squadron of
Embarked Air Group 196 used the lagoon as a base for its
Arado Ar 196 float planes for a brief period in 1943.
Government
''Frazioni''
The municipality is formed by the municipal seat of Orbetello and the towns and villages (''
frazioni
A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...
'') of
Albinia,
Ansedonia,
Fonteblanda,
Giannella,
San Donato and
Talamone.
List of mayors
Main sights
*The city walls (5th century BC).
*Cathedral of ''Santa Maria Assunta'', built over an Etruscan-Roman temple and restructured in 1375 along
Tuscan-Gothic lines. Preceded by a step, it houses some notable 15th-century frescoes.
*The Spanish ''Forte delle Saline'', in the ''frazione'' of
Albinia.
*Remains of the Roman city of Cosa in the ''frazione'' of
Ansedonia.
*Ruins of the Monastery of ''Sant'Angelo''.
Transport
Railway stations
*
Albinia railway station
*
Orbetello–Monte Argentario railway station
*
Talamone railway station
References
External links
Orbetello,
Peninsulas of Italy
{{Grosseto-geo-stub