Porto Ercole () is an Italian town located in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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 thr ...

, 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 ...

. 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 township ...

. 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 ...

". It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

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 s ...

, and is from

Grosseto Grosseto () is a city and a ''comune'' in the central Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of the province of Grosseto and the main city of the Maremma region. The city lies from the Tyrrhenian Sea, at the centre of an alluvial plain on the ...

, from

Orbetello Orbetello is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Grosseto (Tuscany), Italy. 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 set ...

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. It is a deposition landform by which an island becomes attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar. Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island. The word ''t ...

della Feniglia.

History

Porto Ercole was first mentioned in 1296, when Margherita

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 ...

, countess of

Sovana Sovana is a small town in southern Tuscany, Italy, a ''frazione'' of Sorano, a comune in the province of Grosseto. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). History Etruscan by origin, Sovana became a R ...

, 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 da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

, 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 governed by the country's charter and constitution, roughly a third of which explains the mechanics of succession, accession, and abdication; the roles and duties of the monarch; the formalities of communica ...

maintained a summer residence here in the latter half of the twentieth century.

Transportation

Porto Ercole was once connected by rail to

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

, Italy; since 1973Infos 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''

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 Borghi più belli d'Italia