What to see in Orbetello, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including the Duomo, Piazza del popolo and Porta a Terra, as well as excursions to Monte Argentario and Magliano in Tuscany.
Tourist information
Located in the center of the lagoon of the same name, at the end of a strip of land connected to Monte Argentario through an artificial dam, Orbetello is a town where there are agricultural, commercial, industrial and fishing activities.
In the past it was an important center, first Etruscan and then Roman, discreetly developed as early as the seventh century BC, until it became a possession of the Roman Abbey of the Three Fountains.
Conquered by the Sienese in 1414, Orbetello was occupied by the Spanish and German army in 1557, becoming the capital of the state of the garrisons.
In the eighteenth century it passed under the dominion of the Bourbons of Naples, in 1801 it was annexed to the kingdom of Etruria and in 1815 to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The Duomo, built in 1376 in honor of the Assumption, was rebuilt in the seventeenth century.
The Gothic facade, made of travertine and perfectly corresponding to the original one, has a remarkable portal and a four-lobed decoration.
Inside there is a pre-Romanesque antependium made in reliefs, located in the chapel on the right.
At the end of via Ricasoli opens Piazza del Popolo, from which it is possible to reach the channel that connects the two lagoons, with a wall, of Etruscan origin and placed in the lower part, which exercises the function of bank.
What see
In the town is still preserved a part of the eighteenth century walls, which was built by the Spaniards over previous constructions.
Of particular interest are the Porta a Terra, the Porta Medina Coeli, the Porta del Soccorso and the Polziera Guzman, which houses the yacht club.
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In the area there are remains of Roman buildings, including the Villa di Settefinestre, entirely brought to light and dating back to the first century BC.
Among the recommended excursions in the surroundings, in addition to the one to Monte Argentario, there is the one in Magliano in Tuscany, about 25 km away, a village of Etruscan origins but with a medieval appearance, with a Renaissance wall.
The Church of San Martino, built before the year 1000 and renovated in the period between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, has a very interesting interior built in Romanesque-Gothic style.
In Piazza Garibaldi there is the fifteenth-century Palazzo dei Priori, while in Piazza della Repubblica there is the Romanesque Church of San Giovanni Battista, including additional elements in Gothic and Renaissance style.
