Capalbio’s origins are ancient, with Bronze Age tombs in the area, but is first mentioned in historical records in 805 AD, when it was donated by Charlemagne to the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome. It was subsequently passsed to the Aldobrandeschi family in 1200, Orvieto, then the Republic of Siena, and the Orsini, before being conqured by the Spaniards in 1555 and losing its independence to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

After hundreds of years of decay and depopulation worsened by regional flooding, malaria, and banditry, Capalbio became part of the new Kingdom of Italy in 1860, regained its formal independence in 1960, and became particularly popular with Rome’s left-wing intelligentsia, artists, writers, and journalists in the decades after that. Every year between May and October the town is animated by summer visitors, festivals, feasts and cultural events including the prestigious Capalbio International Film Festival.