Piombino

Sister cities

• Bir Gandus
• Flémalle

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 comune 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). It is also probable that Piombino had already been founded during the period of Ostrogoth rule. In 1022 the Monastery of San Giustiniano was founded in the area, boosting the activity of fishermen, 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 Pisan possession until Gerardo Appiani, after ceding Pisa to the Milanese Visconti, carved out an independent lordship centred on Piombino that included the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago: Elba, Pianosa, Montecristo, Capraia, Gorgona, and Giglio, for his family, who held the state intermittently until 1634. In 1445, through his marriage with Caterina Appiani, Rinaldo Orsini acquired the Lordship of Piombino. In 1501–1503 the lordship came under the control of Cesare Borgia. After Cosimo I de' Medici had occupied the Lordship of Piombino in the course of the war against Siena, in 1553 and 1555 a French-Ottoman fleet attacked Piombino, but was pushed back. In 1557, a peace treaty reinstated the Appiani as rulers of Piombino, with the exception of Portoferraio, which was given to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the area of…

Geography

The bounding communes of Piombino are Campiglia Marittima, Follonica, San Vincenzo and Suvereto. The town has seven civil parishes (frazioni): Baratti, Colmata, Fiorentina, La Sdriscia, Populonia, Populonia Stazione and Riotorto.