ORBETELLO

This article appears in Volume V20, Page 164 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: NUM-ORC

ORBETELLO , a town of Tuscany, Italy, in the province of Grosseto, 24 M. S. by E. of Grosseto by rail, 13 ft. above sea level. Pop. (19or) 4188 (town), 5335 (commune). It is situated on a tongue of land projecting westward into a lagoon which is enclosed on the W. and S. by two long narrow sandy spits, and on the seaward (S.W.) side by the peninsula of Monte Argentario. A causeway connecting the town with this peninsula was built across the lagoon in 1842. On every side except the landward (E.) side the town is enclosed by an ancient terrace

wall

WALL (O. Eng. weal, weall, Mid. Eng. wal, wane, adapted from Lat. vallum, rampart; the
original
- ORIGINAL
O. Eng. word for a wall was wag or tenth)
WALL, RICHARD (1694-1778)

of polygonal

work

WORK

, and tombs have been discovered in the vicinity and even within the town itself. On the N. side of the promontory are the remains of a Roman - villa partly below sea-level. The town must thus occupy an ancient site, the name of which is unknown. The town still has the bastions which the Spaniards built during the period (15571713) when they were masters of this corner of Italy. There is a large convict prison with whichis connected another at

Porto

PORTO

Ercole, on the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

side of the peninsula. The mother

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

of the Passionist order crowns an

eminence

EMINENCE (Lat. eminentia)

of Monte Argentario, now strongly fortified. The salt-water lagoon (II sq. m. in extent), in the middle of which the town stands, abounds in white fish, soles and eels. On the eastern edge of the Monte Argentario is an active manganese iron ore mine, yielding some 30,000 tons per annum.
After the fall of the Republic of Siena, when the territory of Siena passed to Tuscany, Philip II. of Spain retained Orbetello, Talamone, Monte Argentario and the

island

ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

of Giannutri until 1713, under the name of the Reali Stati dei Presidii. There are still many Spanish names among the inhabitants of Orbetello. In 1713 this

district

DISTRICT

passed by treaty to the emperor, in 1736 to the king of the two Sicilies, in 18o1 to the kingdom of Etruria, and in 1814 to the grand-duchy of Tuscany.
See G. Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London, 1883), ii. 24o; M. Carmichael, In Tuscany (London, 19o1), 283, sqq. (T. As.)

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