On Tuscany’s boarder lies a swath of idyllic harbor towns and chic beach resorts.
Federico Ciamei
What picture springs to mind when you hear the wordTuscany?
Vineyards or olive groves and the liquids they produce.
Porto Santo Stefano, as seen from the ferry to Giglio Island.Credit:Federico Ciamei
Cypress trees marching in single file up the side of a hill.
As if lazy days on a boat and spaghetti with clams were somehow un-Tuscan.
It doesnt help that some of the areas beach resorts dont exactly ooze local character.
From left: Faro Capel Rosso, a lighthouse with guest rooms; the island of Giannutri, as seen from a window in Faro Capel Rosso.Federico Ciamei
This happening place doesnt have a single name, or a single identity.
Situated at the southernmost end of the regions coastline, its made up of three adjacent areas.
It felt very much like Puglia in 2009.
From left: Luigi Baffigi, the former keeper of Faro Capel Rosso, a lighthouse turned B&B on Giglio Island; La Roqqa’s vintage Fiat 500 zooming along the Argentario coastline.Federico Ciamei
When tourists began to arrive in the 1950s and 60s, they were overwhelmingly Italian.
Both Ansedonia and Il Pellicano are essentially luxury enclaves.
Theres still plenty of mileage in that style of vacation.
From left: A Fiat 500 in the streets of Giglio Porto; sunbathing near the town of Giglio Porto.Federico Ciamei
But the burgeoning southern Tuscan seaside scene is more open and permeable.
From 1557 to 1707, this corner of Tuscany was a Spanish garrison.
It was Orbetello that benefited most from the Iberian touch.
The terrace of La Guardia hotel, on Giglio Island.Federico Ciamei
The rest was mostly left to the goats.
If this is Tuscanys Amalfi Coast, its still in some respects the Amalfi Coast of its pioneer years.
Redbeard, and his colleagues were a real and present danger.
From left: A suite at La Roqqa; spaghetto otto pomodori at La Roqqa.Federico Ciamei
After summering in Porto Ercole for several years, Jonsson bought the towns disused Cirio sardine-canning factory in 2017.
An industrial relic, it is being reimagined as a resort with a focus on wellness and culinary excellence.
La Roqqa does something new for Monte Argentario.
From left: The main staircase at La Roqqa, a hotel in the Tuscan town of Porto Ercole; sunbathing for two at La Roqqa’s Isolotto Beach Club.Federico Ciamei
The opulence comes from the sea view enjoyed by more than half of the 55 rooms.
But that is hardly a sacrifice.
But thats Argentario for youthe island that isnt, but kind of is.
From left: Chef Luca Morroto at La Dogana by Enoteca La Torre, a restaurant in Capalbio; stir-fried rice, burrata, prawns, and glassworts at La Dogana.Federico Ciamei
For many centuries, life here was as tough as the granite rocks and prickly as the vegetation.
And so to the lighthouse.
Resembling ruined chapels, these were used for wine making, once the bedrock of Giglios economy.
From left: The private garden of a villa at Terre di Sacra, a resort near Capalbio; a villa bedroom at Terre di Sacra.Federico Ciamei
Inside, all is breezy and marine.
Given the remote location, breakfast and dinner are included in the nightly rate.
Sprawling dormitory resorts like Fregene and Ladispoli are up next: seaside cities that double as Romes seaside.
From left: An aperitivo at the La Guardia hotel; inside the La Guardia hotel.Federico Ciamei
In the distance is the great mass of Monte Argentario, lambent by morning, dramatically backlit at sunset.
I was speaking with brothers Uberto and Niccolo Resta Pallavicino, who are part owners.
Three years later, he and a bunch of investors from Milan and Turin founded Terre di Sacra.
A lighthouse in the town of Giglio Porto.Federico Ciamei
Today, he said, everyone can see how farsighted it was.
La Macchias members consist of some of northern Italys wealthiest families.
But far from being a playground for the ultra-rich, Terre di Sacra feels like a love story.
It gets 84 percent of its energy from renewable sources.
This isnt a fashion destination, said Uberto as we watched the sun set over Argentario.
Its a place of the soul.