The promontory, probably already inhabited by the
Etruscans, was a personal property of the
Domitii Ahenobarbi family, who obtained it in return for the money they lent to the
Roman Republic in the
Punic Wars. The current name probably finds its origin here, since
Argentarii was the name of money lenders in ancient Rome. Later an imperial possession, it was ceded to the church by
Constantine the Great in the 4th century AD. In the Middle Ages, due to the reduced traffic passing on the nearby
Via Aurelia, the area was sparsely settled. In the heart of the Middle Ages, the promontory became a possession of the Monastery of San Paolo in Rome. It represented in the so-called Carolingian Gate at the Monastery of St. Anastius outside Rome. Following the history of Orbetello, the promontory was a possession of the
Aldobrandeschi, the
Orsini, King
Ladislaus of Naples and
Siena, until
Spain acquired it in the late 16th century. The Spaniards heavily fortified the two ports, as the main stronghold of the
State of Presidi. In 1815, after
Napoleon's defeat, the Argentario was handed over to the
Grand Duchy of Tuscany, to which it belonged until 1860, when it became part of the newly united
Kingdom of Italy. The painter Michelangelo Merisi, known as
Caravaggio, died of a fever at Porto Ercole in 1610. During
World War II, the settlements of Argentario were heavily bombed, with numerous losses. The port of Santo Stefano was destroyed, and was rebuilt only in the 1950s. The railway that connected Orbetello to the mainland was never rebuilt. ==Main sights==