Known for
COSTA CONCORDIA
Cruise ship grounded off Giglio Porto on 13 January 2012, killing thirty-two; refloated and towed to Genoa in July 2014.
GIGLIO CASTELLO
Walled ridge village at around 405 meters, the medieval and administrative center of the island under successive Pisan, Piccolomini and Medici rule.
ANSONACO
Local white wine, Ansonica from the Costa dell'Argentario DOC, grown on terraced granite slopes that ring the island.
When to visit
Best · May–Sep
- J11°
- F11°
- M11°
- A13°
- M16°
- J20°
- J23°
- A24°
- S22°
- O18°
- N15°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
The festa: Mamiliano di Palermo, 15 September
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.
The Sunday letter
Isola del Giglio is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Isola del Giglio comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The button takes you to the letter's own page on Substack, where you leave your email. About the letter
Read on
Isola del Giglio in our articles
The best coastal towns in the province of Grosseto6 towns, Isola del Giglio among them.
The best small coastal towns in Toscana6 towns, Isola del Giglio among them.
The prettiest villages in the province of Grosseto6 towns, Isola del Giglio among them.
The best towns inside a national park in Toscana8 towns, Isola del Giglio among them.
How to get there
Isola del Giglio is on an island and is reached by ferry.
What to see
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.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Isola del Giglio fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Festa dell'Uva e delle Cantinefood festival
usually held in September. itinerarinelgusto.it
Living here
- Population 1,330, down 11.4% since 2015 (Italy's emptying towns)
- Very remotei
- Pharmacy in town
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Full fibre reaches 100% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Regional capital Firenze, 3 h 57 min drive
Could you live here?
Isola del Giglio is an island.
- Reached by ferry. In the series we say we would never live on an island: the ferry is a commitment every time you leave.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City. The rest of the series, and the best towns to move to, arrive in the Sunday letter.
The button takes you to the letter's own page on Substack, where you leave your email. About the letter
Common questions
- What is Isola del Giglio known for?
- Isola del Giglio is a granite island in the Tyrrhenian Archipelago, walled village on the ridge, port below, where the Costa Concordia ran aground in January 2012.
- Where is Isola del Giglio?
- Isola del Giglio is a comune in the province of Grosseto, in Tuscany, at 405 meters above sea level.
- How do you get to Isola del Giglio?
- Isola del Giglio is on an island and is reached by ferry.
- When is the best time to visit Isola del Giglio?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 24 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Is there a sagra or a festival in Isola del Giglio?
- Yes. Festa dell'Uva e delle Cantine. September is when the first of them falls.
- Which other towns are like Isola del Giglio?
- Anacapri, Montescudaio and Capraia Isola.
- How many people live in Isola del Giglio?
- 1,330 at the 2023 count.
- Is Isola del Giglio a good place to live?
- Isola del Giglio is an island town, reached by ferry, which our Where to Move in Italy series treats as the furthest end of the road. Full fibre reaches 100% of homes.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 405 m
- Population: 1,330
- Surface area: 24.01 km²
On the map
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Similar
Towns like Isola del Giglio
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