Portoferraio
 
Elba Island is divided into eight municipalities, Portoferraio is the capital of the island. The others are: Campo nell'Elba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina e Rio nell'Elba.
Today live on the island all year about 32,000 people.
Elba Island is with an area of 223 km², the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy.
The Tuscan archipelago except the island of Elba includes the islands Pianosa, Capraia, Montecristo, Gorgona, Giglio e Giannutri. 
 

 Capoliveri

 

Tourism

Thanks to its valuable natural, Elba Island became the target of national and international tourism and is able to meet the expectations of tourists that choose the island every year as a holiday destination.

Those who opt the island for the sea the island offers a coastline of 147 km with a change of beaches, bays and waters rich in fish, shellfish and plants: a natural paradise for vacationers who love it to rest on the beach, as well as for most demanding divers.

 

Marciana

 

And not only that: from avid cyclists, mountain bikers about scooter riders and motorcyclists Elba Island offers with its 220 km tarred roads and more than 60 km from dirt roads spectacular scenarios, breathtaking views alternating with relaxing amenities.
And then the pleasure of traditional cuisine, of land and sea, handed down over the years by the families of the miners and fishermen, which formed the main population on the island, before the arrival of tourism; and then the characteristic wines, both white and red, bodied from vines that are enriched with iodine, salt and flavors of the Mediterranean scrub. And then the liqueur wines, the pride of the local production: Aleatico, Moscato and Ansonica.
 
Campo nell'Elba

  

Historical Notes

The history of the island of Elba  Island is part of the history of our Western civilization. The only known place in the world where iron occurs directly at the surface, was it the folder Author for the beginning of the Iron Age, which had such great importance for the evolution of man.
Elba, Ilva for the Ligurians, Aethalia for the Greeks, has always been a land of conquest, coveted for its mines, because of its strategic location, because of the port of Portoferraio considered to be the safest natural harbor in the Mediterranean.
And so the island was in the hands of the Ligurians, then the Greeks, the Etruscans and the Romans. In the Middle Ages it was dominated by the Pisans and then by the Appiani and the Medici. It suffered the attacks of Arab pirates and was conquered by the Spaniards and then by the English.

 

Porto Azzurro

It made history because of Napoleon's exile, which gave the island a period of progress and prosperity. He gave the island of Elba flag with three bees.
Even today, every year is celebrated a mass in his death the emperor on May 5, on the island of Elba.
During the Second World War the island was bombed and occupied by the Allies. In the postwar period, the population experienced a period of poverty and emigration, until in the 60s it was looming the way to an economic renewal in the role of tourism.
So Elba Island became the popular holiday destination what it is today.

All text of this page © G. Biancotti

 

 

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