Populonia is a fraction of the municipality of Piombino in the province of Livorno. It was in ancient times one of the largest and most important Etruscan and Roman cities. The ancient town is located in a dominant position on one of the promontories that form the Gulf of Baratti and preserves fortifications of the fifteenth century by the Lords of Piombino, the Appiani, as evidenced by the dragon symbol of the family placed above the entrance to the village . Populonia was an ancient Etruscan settlement, named Fufluna (from Fufluns, Etruscan god of wine and intoxication) or Pupluna, the only Etruscan city built along the coast. It was one of the twelve cities of the Etruscan Dodecapolis, the main city-states that were part of Etruria, governed by a lucumone. The acropolis of the historic city corresponds to today's Poggio del Castello and Poggio del Telegrafo, located at the south-western end of the Gulf of Baratti. Already in the Archaic period, probably, the inhabited area also extended to the neighboring hills and the area of ​​the gulf, where, in addition to the main necropolis of the city, the industrial district is also located. Together with Volterra it was one of the major centers of mining and metallurgical industry of the Etruscans. The remains of the ancient city are visible in the current inhabited area, with the Etruscan walls and the remains of buildings from the Roman era. Some of the city necropolises of the different historical phases can be visited in the archaeological park of Baratti and Populonia, together with the remains of the industrial district near the port. In the current village it is possible to visit the private Gasparri Collection which preserves finds from the area of ​​the city and from the submarine finds of the stretch of sea in front, while the Archaeological Museum of the Populonia area is located in the historic center of Piombino.