Piombino

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For other uses, see Piombino (disambiguation)}}}.

Piombino is a town and commune in the province of Livorno (Tuscany), Italy, on the medium coast of Tyrrhenian sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma.

It has an ancient historical center, derived from the time in which it was the Etruscans' port, in the surroundings of Populonia. In the Middle Ages, it was instead an important port of Pisa's Republic.

Its hinterland hosts a considerable industrial area. Its port is still heavily used, both for industry and for tourism, with ferry-boats to Portoferraio (Elba) and Olbia (Sardinia).

Bounding communes

• Campiglia Marittima
• Follonica
• San Vincenzo
• Suvereto

History

The area of modern Piombino was settled since ancient times. During the Etruscan era the main city in the area was Populonia, now a frazione within the commune of Piombino.

The name Piombino derives almost certainly from Populino, meaning "Small Populonia", which the refugees gave to a small village where they had taken refuge after the city had been attacked by Greek pirates (9th century CE). It is also probable that Piombino had alredy been founded during the Ostrogoth domination.

In 1022 the Monastery of San Giustiniano was founded in the area, boosting the activity of fishers, sailors and workers. In 1115 Piombino submitted to the Republic of Pisa, becoming its second main port: authority was exerted by a Capitano ("Captain"). During the conflicts between the Pisane and the Genoese (12th-13th centuries) the city was sacked various times. In 1248 the Capitano Ugolino Arsopachi built the Channels.

The Castle of Piombino remained a Pisane possession until Gerardo Appiani, ceding Pisa to the Milanese Visconti, carved out the independent state of Piombino, Elba, Pianosa and Montecristo for himself.

In 1553 and 1555 a French-Ottoman fleet attacked Piombino, but was pushed back. In 1594 the Principate of Piombino was created by Emperor Rudolf II of Habsburg. In 1634 the title was acquired by the Ludovisi and, in 1708, by the Boncompagni. In 1805 Napoleon assigned it, together with Lucca (Principality of Lucca and Piombino).

After the Napoleon's final defeat and the congress of Vienna, the state of Piombino was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It became part of the unified Kingdom of Italy in 1860.

During World War II, after the fall of the Fascist government, Piombino successfully resisted for some days an attempt of sea invasion by German forces (see Battle of Piombino). For the deeds of its citizens, the city received a Gold Medal for Military Valour by President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi.

Main sights

• The Rivellino (Walls Gate)
• The Castle
• The Natural Province Reserve Padule Orti Bottagone, created in 1998, next to the locality of Torre del Sale.

Other

Piombino has schools, gymnasia (middle school), lyceums (high school), churches, banks, parks and squares. In the locality of Punta Falcone is an astronomical observatory, created in 1976.

Twin cities

• - Flemalle, Belgium

Population history

Year	Population
1861	2,905
1871	3,625
1881	4,058
1901	7,668
1911	18,649
1921	23,541
1931	25,981
1936	27,548
1951	32,336
1961	35,940
1971	39,654
1981	39,401
1991	36,774
2001	33,925
December 31, 2004	34,369

External links

• [Official website of the Commune of Piombino] (in Italian)
• http://www.anpi.it/piombino.html
• Map and aerial photos
• *[Street map from Mapquest]. [MapPoint] or [Google]
• *[Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver] or [Google]

 

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