Talamone, once the butt of Medieval jokes, now a jewel

According to one of our guides, Talamone, a fishing village on the southern end of Monti dell'Uccellina and one of Italy's most prestine natural seaside parks, was a "continuing embarrassment for the Sienese Republic" who tried to fashion it into an important port for landlocked Sienna. Unfortunately, it kept filling in making it impossible for use by big ships. Dante used their failure to poke a bit of fun at the Sienese. Today, Talamone is still a walled village sitting on a rock overlooking a nice marina and sporting a 16th-century Spanish castle. We decided to make the most of a sunny afternoon with a late picnic at the top of the village and overlooking the Mediterranean and Monte Argentario an archipelago that juts out from the coastline.