Montalto has the unfortunate distinction of having been destroyed twice; in 1109 on the order of the Pope in his efforts to root out a rebellion, and then again in 1649 when it was razed to the ground during the terrible wars against neighbouring Castro. In between it was fought over by popes and various powerful families, and suffered miserably until a series of extraordinary political and economic reforms at the end of the 18th century, when municipal and public debt, duties, and taxes were abolished, and a massive agricultural and civic building project was begun.

They didn’t have much luck with their power stations either. You can see the massive smoke stack for miles along the whole length of the coast up to Argentario, but the nuclear power plant here was essentially completed but not yet opened when it was shut down in 1988 following a national referendum of nuclear power, and it’s successor, the Alessandro Volta thermal power plant (the largest in Italy) has already been decommissioned and is in the process of being dismantled. So you won’t see it for long…

The old center in Montalto di Castro is small but pretty, and the large wide beach at Montalto Marina is an extremely popular summer destination with a busy beach esplanade packed with teenagers, bars, and cafes offering typically ordinary beach food, but our favorite pizzeria in the whole region is here too, at La Torre Di Piras Cristina.