What is Isola del Giglio known for?

Cruise ship grounded off Giglio Porto on 13 January 2012, killing thirty-two; refloated and towed to Genoa in July 2014. Walled ridge village at around 405 meters, the medieval and administrative center of the island under successive Pisan, Piccolomini and Medici rule. Local white wine, Ansonica from the Costa dell'Argentario DOC, grown on terraced granite slopes that ring the island.

Tuscany · Grosseto

Isola del Giglio

A granite island in the Tyrrhenian Archipelago, walled village on the ridge, port below, where the Costa Concordia ran aground in January 2012.

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Nearest hub

1,330

Population

May–Sep

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Isola del Giglio is the second-largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago, almost entirely granite, the highest point at Poggio della Pagana 496 meters above the sea. The commune has three inhabited frazioni: Giglio Porto on the eastern coast, where the ferries from Porto Santo Stefano dock; Giglio Castello on the central ridge at around 405 meters, the walled medieval village and administrative center; and Giglio Campese on the western bay, a 1960s seaside resort built on an old pyrite mine closed in 1964. Charlemagne gave the island to the abbey of Tre Fontane in 805. It was Pisan from 1264, ceded to Antonio Piccolomini in the fifteenth century, then passed to the Medici in 1558. Saracen raids continued until 1799. The wreck of the Costa Concordia on the night of 13 January 2012 killed thirty-two people and held the world's attention until the ship was righted, refloated and towed to Genoa in July 2014.

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Gallery

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Known for

Giglio Castello
Walled medieval village on the ridge at around 405 meters, with intact mura and the Rocca Aldobrandesca, the administrative center of the island.
Giglio Porto
Main harbor of the island on the east coast, with the colored houses around the small ferry dock and the lighthouse of Capel Rosso to the south.
Giglio Campese
Largest bay and sandy beach of the island on the west coast, with the medieval Torre del Campese and the disused pyrite mine on the headland.
Poggio della Pagana
Highest point of the island at 496 meters, granite ridge with a panorama from Argentario to Elba and across to Giannutri to the southeast.
Parco Nazionale Arcipelago Toscano
Protected park covering most of the island and the surrounding waters, with marked trails across the granite spine and the macchia mediterranea.

When to visit

Best months · May–Sep

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through September is the only practical season for Giglio. The ferries from Porto Santo Stefano run on a full schedule, the beaches at Campese and the smaller coves work, and the temperature in Castello on the ridge stays manageable through August. July and August are crowded with mainland day-trippers; the island roughly doubles in population. April and October are the quietest open months, ferries down to a few runs a day. November through March is cold, windy, many restaurants and pensioni closed in Castello. The wine-pressing for Ansonaco runs through September on the terraced slopes around Castello.