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00 Piombino
Stemma di Piombino

Tuscany · Livorno

Piombino

A promontory port facing Elba across the channel, founded by refugees from Etruscan Populonia and now the Tuscan archipelago's ferry capital.

Best time
May–Sep
By car
1 h 24 min from Pisa
By train
Station in the comune
Population
32,194

Known for

  • ELBA GATEWAY

    Ferry port for Portoferraio on Elba ten kilometers across the channel, with hourly crossings in summer to the Tuscan archipelago.

  • POPULONIA

    Etruscan acropolis and necropolis on the Gulf of Baratti eight kilometers north, excavated from 1908, one of the most important Etruscan sites in Italy.

  • APPIANI SIGNORIA

    Independent state from 1399 to 1634 under the Appiani, holding Piombino plus Elba, Pianosa and Montecristo, with its capital here.

  • VAL DI CORNIA ROSSO / ROSSO DELLA VAL DI CORNIA

    The commune lies inside the Val di Cornia Rosso / Rosso della Val di Cornia DOCG production zone.

When to visit

Best · May–Sep

  • J13°
  • F14°
  • M15°
  • A17°
  • M22°
  • J26°
  • J30°
  • A30°
  • S26°
  • O22°
  • N18°
  • D14°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 27° and coldest in February at 14°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

Why come

Piombino sits on a triangular promontory pointing southeast into the Tyrrhenian, at the northern edge of the Maremma. The town was founded in the ninth century by refugees from the Etruscan port after Greek pirates attacked the city; they called the new settlement Populino, small Populonia, and the name shortened over time to what it is now. The old city, now a frazione north on the coast, became the source of the newer town's name rather than the other way round.

In the medieval period Piombino became an independent signoria under the Appiani, who ruled from here over a small state that reached out to the islands across the water. The castle at the seafront, the piazza cantilevered out over the cliff toward Elba, and the working ferry port make up the contemporary town, each looking the same direction the refugees once looked back from: toward the older settlement to the north and the channel to the islands beyond it. The Bandiera Blu coast covers the four kilometers between the port and the old acropolis, so that the walk from new town to old runs along the same shoreline that separates them by name only.

We've been

Feature from our free newsletter

The Iron Coast | The Wrong Sea

That is the thing the young man on the beach did not see, and the man who lives here cannot stop seeing. This is an industrial coast wearing a beach towel. Run it back far enough and the whole of it, the swamp and the steel and the slag and the white water, is one long story about iron, and the holiday is the costume the story put on after the work ran out.

From the Piombino letter, July 2026

Read the full feature on anywhereitaly.com

Read on

Piombino in our articles

How to get there

From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 30m by car.

Bologna (BLQ) is about 3 hours away.

By car from the centre of Pisa 1h 24m, Siena 1h 51m or Florence 2h 15m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Pisa or Florence?

Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Piombino is about 1h 14m away by road.

Every town within reach of Florence / Pisa airport.

Piombino, photo 1
Piombino, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello di Piombino

    Principal defensive fortress of the city on a headland pointing southeast into the sea, with the Torrione, the Rivellino and the Cittadella complex, now a museum.

  • Piazza Bovio

    Long rocky breakwater extending into the sea as La Rocchetta, terraced as a piazza, with a balcony view across the channel to Elba.

  • Parco Archeologico di Baratti e Populonia

    Chamber tombs from the seventh to second centuries BC cut into the ground of the Gulf of Baratti, laid out for walking among the excavated structures rather than viewed from a distance.

  • Spiaggia di Baratti

    Crescent black-sand beach below the acropolis, with the ferrous slag of the ancient ironworks still visible in the sand underfoot.

  • Cittadella

    Renaissance quarter inside the castle complex, commissioned by the ruling family, with the Cappella di Sant'Anastasia and the Casa delle Bifore.

  • Porto di Piombino

    Working ferry port for Elba, Pianosa and the wider archipelago, with crossings to Portoferraio every hour in season.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Piombino 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.

Plan your trip

We recommend

Where to eat

Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.

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.

Living here

  • Population 32,194
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 30 min drive
  • Regional capital Firenze, 2 h 15 min drive

Common questions

What is Piombino known for?
Piombino is a promontory port facing Elba across the channel, founded by refugees from Etruscan Populonia and now the Tuscan archipelago's ferry capital.
Where is Piombino?
Piombino is a comune in the province of Livorno, in Tuscany, at 21 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Piombino?
Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 30m by car.
Can you get to Piombino without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Pisa to Piombino?
About 1h 24m by car.
When is the best time to visit Piombino?
Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 30 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 14 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Piombino?
Yes. Sagra del Pesce - Piombino. July is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Piombino?
Monte Argentario, Agropoli and Camaiore.
How many people live in Piombino?
32,194 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 21 m
  • Population: 32,194
  • Surface area: 129.88 km²

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.

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