The tiny crescent shaped island of Giannutri south of Giglio is reachable by ferry from Porto Santo Stefano on Argentario. it is the southernmost island of the Tuscan Archipelago, with a rocky rugged, coastline, inlets and caves and two lovely little beaches, and the remains of a striking 1st century Roman villa built by the then owner of the island, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, who was the father of the emperor Nero.

The island was abandoned for almost 500 years until 805, when it was donated by Charlemagne to the Tre Fontane Abbey in Rome and resettled by monks and hermits. It was held by various Italian families in the following centuries, was sometimes the refuge of pirates, invaded by the English at the beginning of the 19th century, and sold to the Ruffo della Scaletta family at the beginning of the 20th, who owned it privately it until the 1970’s, when investement, tourism, and subsequent bankruptcy forced the local home owners to form a self-governing consortium.