Costa degli Etruschi
The Etruscan Coast is a part of the Tuscan coast that extends from Livorno to Piombino. As the name suggests, the roots of this area are linked to the presence of the Etruscan people, who inhabited these lands as early as the 9th century BC. As evidence of this close link between the Tuscan Maremma and the Etruscans, there are countless archaeological sites, which reveal well-preserved settlements that are still visible and can be visited today, such as those present in the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia, located between the towns of San Vincenzo and Piombino. In particular, Populonia Alta represents the classic village of Etruscan origin, located on the top of a hill overlooking the Gulf of Baratti. This is the first and only example of an Etruscan coastal city. The area called Costa degli Etruschi also includes the archaeological and naturalistic areas of the Val di Cornia parks, the coastal park of Rimigliano and that of Sterpaia.
Baratti
Baratti is a renowned tourist resort located in the municipality of Piombino famous for its beautiful gulf overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. The coasts of this locality are also partly washed by the Ligurian Sea and represent a perfect combination of nature and ancient history. The park of Rimigliano also extends from the village of Baratti with its thick pine forests and golden sands. In this place, before the erosion of the coasts slowly shaped this corner of paradise, the ancient Etruscans thrived dedicating themselves in particular to iron working, as evidenced by the many archaeological finds that emerged both from the land and from the sea. The ferrous residues left by this ancient practice have deposited along the beaches of Baratti, giving it a very particular color which has become its symbol today.
Baratti as well as the nearby Populonia has Etruscan origins, in fact, near the town there are some burial mounds testifying to the colonization of the aforementioned civilization. The main activity carried out in this area in the Etruscan and later Roman periods was that of port of call for goods and for the iron extracted on the island of Elba.
In 1968, off the coast of the Gulf of Baratti, a silver amphora probably dating back to the 6th century and coming from the ancient settlement of Antioch was also found and subsequently lost in a shipwreck. This extraordinary find was renamed “Amphora di Baratti”, and is now kept in the archaeological museum of the territory of Populonia in Piombino.
Populonia
Populonia is an ancient city state that was part of the 12 main Etruscan metropolises present in the Maremma area. Populonia is located on a small hill surrounded by the sea in a dominant position over the Gulf of Baratti. In ancient times, the village was known by the name of Fufluna, a tribute to the Etruscan god of wine, but also by the pseudonym of Pupluna, which is the one that has come down to us. This city represents the only example of an Etruscan settlement located on the Tuscan coast line. The acropolis of Populonia, the fulcrum of the ancient village is located at the highest point of the town from which it was possible to control the areas of Poggio del Castello and Poggio Telegrafo. This place is the emblem of this ancient city state. Furthermore, in the current town, the remains of the historic settlement can be visited: stupendous Etruscan walls and ancient stone houses, here, moreover, there are also buildings that probably arose later during the Roman conquest. Other very well preserved fortification residues can be placed in the medieval period and were used to defend the city from pirate raids.
Inside the majestic fortress of Populonia built in the fifteenth century and full of paved alleys, you will have the opportunity to visit the beautiful Gasparri Collection in which some of the most precious Etruscan and Roman relics are exhibited, coming both from the ancient city and from underwater excavations. To join this locality of Etruria to the gulf of Baratti there is an old panoramic road along which other tombs and catacombs have been found, always of Etruscan origin. In this area, more precisely at the Archaeological Park of Baratti and Populonia, it is possible to visit some necropolises and the remains of the ancient industrial district of Populonia and what remains of its ancient port. From here the Etruscan ships sailed towards the island of Elba from which the iron worked inside the furnaces of Baratti was extracted.
For those wishing to further explore the history linked to this ancient city, they can visit the Archaeological Museum of the Territory of Populonia in Piombino.