Follonica is essentially a very pleasant and popular seaside resort, located at 40 kilometres northwest of Grosseto. Situated on the Gulf of Follonica (Golfo di Follonica), Follonica offers wonderful landscapes from Punta Ala in the south-east to Piombino in the Northwest and towards the sea, until Elba island.
Follonica is a popular tourist site during the summer, mostly visited by the Italians themselves. The city has been awarded the Bandiera Blu (Blue Flag) every year from 2000-2007 for the cleanliness of its beaches and seawater.
The imposing Chiesa di S. Leopoldo di Follonica was built in the third decade of the 19th century after a project by the well-known Florentine architect Carlo Reishammer (1806-1883). The church includes abundant elements in cast iron, like the big rose window in the façade, the apse, several pieces of the indoors furnishing, as well as the summit of the pretty bell-tower.

The name of Follonica has its origins in the word fulloni, which was the yell used in the past in the foundries set in the town. The story of the town is closely related to the iron manufacture, which was started by the Etruscan civilization.

The diverse and significant archaeological excavations made in Etruscan settlements from the 6th century BC ca., located in the areas of Rondelli and Val Petraia, reveal that the elaborated series of objects and adorns made from different metals found out belonged to populations who were ahead of their time in relation to a large part of those who were established in other areas of Etruria.
Most of those astonishing findings are currently hosted in highly interesting Archaeological Museum of Follonica.