Monte Argentario: A Different Tuscany

We've just returned from a relaxing couple of days in a cottage on the slopes of Monte Argentario in southern Tuscany's Maremma region. The picture on the right is of the Torre della Maddalena, and was taken from our back yard.

Monte Argentario is that curious spot on the map you see at the boundary of Tuscany and Lazio. It used to be an island, but silt from the Albegna river caused two fingers of land called tomboli to link it to the mainland. So what you have is an island paradise with easy access.

This is November, so the weather we expected to be "changeable" and it certainly was. From brilliant sunshine with threatening clouds on the day we arrived, turning into a powerful storm with heavy winds and rain the next day, which gave way to a cloudless night full of stars and airplanes. The day we left to explore Pitigliano was warm and sunny with a few friendly cumulus clouds to give interest to the deep blue of the sky.

Monte Argentario represents a different Tuscany. It's still a wild place with a natural landscape. The rest of Tuscany is beautiful because of the vineyards and the patchwork of fields and the hills crowned with medieval cities; a landscape made compelling by human hands, but Monte Argentario retains its natural Macchia, the typical Mediterranean ground cover, and is dotted with towers that were placed to protect the coast. If you look hard enough you'll see villas tucked away discretely along the craggy coastline, their locations given away by a scattering of palm or olive trees. Many of these villas are available to rent.

Learn more about the Maremma and Monte Argentario: Monte Argentario Travel Guide.