 The village is located on the northern slope of Poggio Ballone, east of Scarlino, in an area extremely rich in terms of mining, especially for large deposits of the iron ore pyrite which were intensively exploited until the early 1980s.The town is known because of Pia de' Tolomei (whose fate is related in the "Purgatory" cantoes of the "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri), and for being the birthplace of the writer Giuseppe Bandi, Italian patriot and journalist.The Etruscan territory of Gavorrano fell under the direct control of Vetulonia which, through the paths along the river valleys of Sovata and Bruna, was rich in deposits of minerals to flow around the Lake Accesa.