The municipality Marciana is located in the western part of Elba Island and extends into the coastline of Procchio until Pomonte around the massif of Monte Capanne. The Monte Capanne with a hight of 1019 m is the highest point on the island of Elba. Large partsof the municipality are part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park.

The districts Procchio, Sant'Andrea Chiessi and Pomonte are directly beside the sea.

The neighboring municipalities are Campo nell'Elba, Marciana Marina and Portoferraio.

The area has been inhabited since the Bronze Age, as archaeological findings show. Marciana Alta was founded as the oldest community of the island of Elba 35BC by the Roman Marcius. 

A fortress got the place in the 12th century under the rule of the Republic of Pisa. This offered the population protection against at that time frequent pirate raids. In the immediate vicinityof the former fort today is the Archaeological Museum of the municipality with numerous finds from the area.

The formerly associated Marciana Marina became independent municipality in 1954 .

The western part of the island of Elba and therefore the municipality Marciana is dominated by granitic rock, forming the mountains and reaches into the sea. The granite peaks are visible from far away. The north boundslopes are lush overgrown with forests of chestnut and oak trees. The west part is aligned invegetation very sparse and limited mainly to scrub.

The coast al  area is generally rocky and steep down to the places where mountain valleys flow into the sea.There you can find small bays with beaches, which are mostly covered with gravel or crushed stone. Some places, however, such as Sant'Andrea fill its beaches with sand and maintain it accordingly.