I came across Monte Argentario few years ago and was mesmerized.  It amazed me with its beauty and variety -- in some places rugged and others manicured, chic but discreet. Ninety kilometers south of the Pisa airport, Monte Argentario is a promontory anchored to the Tuscan mainland by two narrow sandy isthmuses called Il tombolo di Giannella and la Feniglia, that flank the Orbetello Lagoon, the most important nature reserve on the Tyrrhenian sea and a primary winter home for birds in Europe.

Though it is in southern Tuscany's Maremma region and Grosseto province, Monte Argentario feels more like Southern Italy and also has a Spanish ambiance throughout. In fact, this sliver of land with a perimeter of 39 kilometers once belonged to both Spain and Naples. Monte Argentario’s distinctiveness lies in its abiding and diverse sense of place. No other area of Tuscany offers such a range of dramatic landscapes. It is renowned for wildlife ranging from birds to flowers. The seas around the nearby islands of Giglio and Giannutri are the most pristine you can find.