In the rocky mountains on the road to Rome south of Capalbio is the medieval town of Tolfa, and above that, perched on the highest peak overlooking the town is the Frangipane fortress and Church of the Madonna. The region has remarkably old origins, dated back to the Stone Age in numerous archaeological finds, and was a prosperous Etruscan and Roman settlement.

The mountains were rich in minerals, metals, and sulphates, and mined extensively in the middle ages. Especially prized was the discovery of alum, used to make dye for textiles, which allowed the church to break the previously exclusive alum trade by the Ottoman turks, who had lots of it. The fortress protected the town, until the French destroyed it in 1799 for rebelling against Rome.