What is Capalbio known for?

Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture park built between 1979 and 1998, twenty-two ceramic figures of the Major Arcana, opened in 1998. Nickname acquired in the late twentieth century for the borgo's hold on Roman political, literary and academic figures who summer here. Southernmost hilltop borgo of the Maremma grossetana, with territory running from Monte Calmata to the Lago di Burano coastal reserve.

Capalbio is a comune in the province of Grosseto, Tuscany region of Italy, about 131 kilometers from Roma.

Tuscany · Grosseto

Capalbio

A walled hilltop borgoin the southern Maremma, donated to the Abbey of Tre Fontane by Charlemagne and home of Niki de Saint Phalle's Tarot Garden.

131 km / 81 mi

Nearest hub (Roma)

3,838

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Capalbio sitson a hill above the southern Maremma, twelve kilometers from the Tyrrhenian coast and the last hill town before the border with Lazio. Charlemagne gave the land to the Abbey of Tre Fontane in 805; the Aldobrandeschi held it through the medieval period, the Orsini built the castle, and Cosimo I de' Medici took it in 1555. It became an independent commune in 1960. The medieval walls and the Rocca Aldobrandesca define the centro storico; the surrounding territory runs from the wooded uplands of Monte Calmata down to the Lago di Burano nature reserve on the coast. The Giardino dei Tarocchi, four kilometers south, is the sculpture park Niki de Saint Phalle built between 1979 and 1998, twenty-two ceramic and mirrored figures of the Major Arcana set among holm oaks. The borgo is sometimes called the piccola Atene, the small Athens, for its hold on the Roman political and cultural class who summer here.

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Gallery

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Known for

Rocca Aldobrandesca
Medieval fortress at the top of the borgo, later expanded by the Orsini, with a square tower and battlements that overlook the Maremma.
Mura medievali
Two concentric circles of walls enclosing the centro storico, with a walkable parapet that opens onto views toward the Argentario.
Giardino dei Tarocchi
Niki de Saint Phalle sculpture park four kilometers south, twenty-two ceramic and mirrored figures of the Major Arcana, opened to the public in 1998.
Chiesa di San Nicola
Romanesque parish church inside the walls, restored in the seventeenth century, with a fifteenth-century fresco of the Madonna with saints.
Oasi Lago di Burano
WWF-managed coastal lagoon reserve at the mouth of the comune, a major migration stop for waterbirds between Africa and northern Europe.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the season the borgo and its territory work together: the centro storico stays cool at 217 meters while the Tyrrhenian coast at Chiarone-Capalbio fills with swimmers. The Giardino dei Tarocchi runs April through October. July and August are hot inland; afternoon hours in the borgo thin out and the coast takes over. The Lago di Burano reserve peaks for birdwatching in September and October, when European migration crosses the lagoon. November through March is quiet and the Maremma roads are nearly empty, though weekends pull the Roman crowd back for boar season and cold-weather trattoria cooking.