Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

island in

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, from the coastal town of

Piombino Piombino is an Italian town and ''comune'' of about 35,000 inhabitants in the province of Livorno (Tuscany). It lies on the border between the Ligurian Sea and the Tyrrhenian Sea, in front of Elba Island and at the northern side of Maremma. Ove ...

on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the

Arcipelago Toscano National Park Arcipelago Toscano National Park is a large Tuscan Archipelago national park and marine park in the Provinces of Grosseto and Livorno, western Tuscany, Italy. Geography The Tuscan archipelago (chain of islands) is located between the Ligurian Se ...

, and the third largest island in Italy, after

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. It is located in the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian pe ...

about east of the French island of Corsica. The island is part of the

province of Livorno The province of Livorno or, traditionally, province of Leghorn ( it, provincia di Livorno) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It includes several islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, including Elba and Capraia. Its cap ...

and is divided into seven municipalities, with a total population of about 30,000 inhabitants which increases considerably during the summer. The municipalities are

Portoferraio Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest city. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny h ...

(which is also the island's principal town), Campo nell'Elba, Capoliveri, Marciana,

Marciana Marina Marciana Marina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno (administrative region of Tuscany, Italy), one of the most important towns of Elba Island. It is situated at sea level, with nearly 2.000 inhabitants. There is a small marinaCir ...

Porto Azzurro Porto Azzurro is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany; it is on the island of Elba, located about southwest of Florence and about south of Livorno. It was formerly called Porto Longone, and in 15 ...

, and

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. Elba was the site of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

's first exile, from 1814 to 1815.

Geography

Elba is the largest remaining stretch of land from the ancient tract that once connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The northern coast faces the Ligurian Sea, the eastern coast the Piombino Channel, the southern coast the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Corsica Channel divides the western tip of the island from neighbouring Corsica.

Geology

The island itself is made up of slices of rocks which once formed part of the ancient Tethyan seafloor. These rocks have been through at least two orogenies, the Alpine orogeny and the Apennine orogeny. The second of these two events was associated with subduction of the Tethyan oceanic crust underneath

and the obduction of parts of the ancient seafloor onto the continents. Later extension within the stretched inner part of the Apennine mountains caused adiabatic melting and the intrusion of the

Mount Capanne Mount Capanne ( it, Monte Capanne) is the highest mountain on the Italian island of Elba and in the province of Livorno, Tuscany, Italy. It is located in the western part of the island, reaching a height of in elevation above the Mediterranean ...

and the La Serra-Porto Azzuro granitoids. These igneous bodies brought with them

skarn Skarns or tactites are hard, coarse-grained metamorphic rocks that form by a process called metasomatism. Skarns tend to be rich in calcium-magnesium-iron-manganese-aluminium silicate minerals, which are also referred to as calc-silicate mineral ...

fluids which dissolved and replaced some of the carbonate units, precipitating

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

-rich minerals in their place. One of the

-rich minerals, ilvaite, was first identified on the island and takes its name from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word for Elba. More recently, high-angle faults formed within the tectonic pile, allowing for the migration of

-rich fluids through the crust. The deposits left behind by these fluids formed the island's rich seams of iron ore. MteCapanne

The terrain is quite varied and is thus divided into several areas based on geomorphology. The mountainous and most recent part of the island can be found to the west, the centre of which is dominated by

(at a height of 1,018 metres, or 3,340 feet), also called the "roof of the Tuscan Archipelago". The mountain is home to many animal species including the

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, the Caspian region from eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domestic sheep breeds. Taxonomy ''Ovis gmelini'' was the sc ...

and

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

, two species that flourish despite the continuous influx of tourists. The central part of the island is a mostly flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres (). It is where the major centres can be found: Portoferraio, Campo nell'Elba. To the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 3 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of

that made Elba famous.

Hydrography

Rivers rarely exceed in length, and it is common for the shorter ones to dry up during the summer. The largest rivers, sorted by length, are: *Fosso San Francesco ; *Fosso Barion, ; *Fosso Redinoce, Between Poggio and Marciana, at the foot of Mount Capanne, is a spring called Fonte Napoleone, known for its quality.

Climate

The climate of the island is predominantly Mediterranean, except for Mount Capanne, where winters tend to be moderately cold. Precipitation is concentrated in autumn and comprises a normal rainfall. The island lies in the rain shadow of the large and mountainous island of Corsica, so precipitation totals are somewhat reduced from the mainland (most of the island receives less than 750 mm (30 inches) annually). Snowfall in winter is rare in the lowlands and melts quickly. The table below shows the average temperatures for the islands by month.

History

Early history

The island was originally inhabited by

Ligures The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regi ...

Ilvates, who gave it the ancient name Ilva. It was well known from very ancient times for its

resources and valued mines. The

Greeks The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...

called it Aethalia (Αἰθαλία, "smoky"), after the fumes of the metal producing furnaces.

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

mentions it in his epic poem ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason ...

'', describing that the Argonauts rested here during their travels. He writes that signs of their visit were still visible in his day, including skin-coloured pebbles that they dried their hands on and large stones which they used at discus. Strabo (5.2.6) presents a slightly different account: "because the scrapings, which the Argonauts formed when they used their strigils, became congealed, the pebbles on the shore remain variegated still to this day." The island was then settled by the

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...

, who started mining iron at Elba, and later (after 480 BC) by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, who called the island Ilva.

Middle Ages and early modern

In the early

medieval period In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Elba was invaded by the Ostrogoths and the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

, and then it became a possession of the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

. After the

battle of Meloria The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisan ...

, the

Republic of Genova The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

took possession of Elba, but it was regained by Pisa in 1292. The island was retained for two centuries by the

Appiani family The Appiani (also Appiano or d'Appiano) were an Italian noble family, originally from Al Piano or Appiano, a now disappeared toponym identified with the modern La Pieve in the ''comune'' of Ponsacco. They held the principality of Piombino from ...

, Lords of

, when they sold Pisa to the

house of Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

of Milan in 1399. In 1544, the Barbary pirates from North Africa devastated Elba and the coasts of Tuscany. In 1546, part of the island was handed over to Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, who fortified Portoferraio and renamed it "Cosmopoli", while the rest of the island was returned to the Appiani in 1577. In 1596, Philip II of Spain captured Porto Longone and had two fortresses built there. This part of Elba came into the direct power of Spain through the State of the Presidi, including

Porto Longone Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. In 1736, the sovereignty of this part of Elba was claimed by the Kingdom of Naples but remained abandoned.

Late modern and contemporary

The

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

landed on the Island of Elba in 1796, after the occupation of Livorno by the French Republican troops, to protect the 4,000 French royalists who had found asylum in Portoferraio two years earlier. In 1801, the

Peace of Luneville Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

gave Elba to the

Kingdom of Etruria The Kingdom of Etruria (; it, Regno di Etruria) was an Italian kingdom between 1801 and 1807 that made up a large part of modern Tuscany. It took its name from Etruria, the old Roman name for the land of the Etruscans. History The kingdom ...

, and it was transferred to France in 1802 by the Peace of Amiens. The French Emperor

was exiled to Elba, after his forced abdication following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, and conveyed to the island on HMS ''Undaunted'' by Captain

Thomas Ussher Rear-Admiral Sir Thomas Ussher KCH CB (1779 – 6 January 1848) was an Anglo-Irish officer of the British Royal Navy who served with distinction during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and who in 1814 conveyed Napoleon Bonapart ...

; he arrived at Portoferraio on 4 May 1814. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of 600 men and was nominally sovereign of Elba, although the nearby sea was patrolled by the French and British navies. During the months that he stayed on the island, Napoleon carried out a series of economic and social reforms to improve the quality of life. After staying for almost ten months, he escaped to France on 26 February 1815. At the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

, Elba was restored to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. In 1860, it became part of the new unified

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, the island was liberated from German occupation by the French '' 1^er Corps d'Armée'' supported by British forces including Royal Naval Commandos on 17 June 1944, in '' Opération Brassard''. Faulty intelligence and strong defences made the battle more difficult than expected. In 1954

BOAC Flight 781 BOAC Flight 781 was a scheduled British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) passenger flight from Singapore to London. On 10 January 1954, a de Havilland Comet passenger jet operating the flight suffered an explosive decompression at altitude an ...

crashed in the waters off the coast of Elba. In recent decades, thanks to its rich cultural heritage, cuisine and nature, the island has become an important international tourist destination.

Transportation

The island is connected to the mainland via the four ferry companies, Toremar, Moby Lines, Blunavy and Sardinia Ferries, all offering routes between Piombino and Portoferraio, the capital located in the north,

Cavo Cavo is an American hard rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Because of their sound and musical influences, they are sometimes classified as post-grunge. Band history In late 2000, guitarist Chris Hobbs, bassist Ryan Kemp, and drummer Chad ...

Rio Marina Rio Marina is a ''frazione'' of the ''comune'' of Rio, in the Province of Livorno in the Italian region Tuscany, located on the island of Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal ...

and Porto Azzurro, on the east coast of the island. There is an airport on the island,

Marina di Campo Airport Marina di Campo Airport ( it, Aeroporto di Marina di Campo) is the airport of the Italian island of Elba, located in the village of La Pila, in Marina di Campo. It is also known as ''Teseo Tesei Airport'' ( it, Aeroporto "Teseo Tesei"). It is th ...

. It is served by Silver Air with flights to the Italian mainland.

Cycling

The island has a network of trails for road racers looking for more technical routes for their training, trails and dirt roads for bikers to have fun on, and accessible routes for families with children who need safe and relaxing routes. On the road from Rio nell'Elba going to Porto Azzurro is the "Fonte di Coppi". Towards the end of his career

Fausto Coppi Angelo Fausto Coppi (; 15 September 1919 – 2 January 1960) was an Italian cyclist, the dominant international cyclist of the years after the Second World War. His successes earned him the title ''Il Campionissimo'' ("Champion of Champions ...

, the "campionissimo", came here to train on the roads of Elba. He still retained a celebrity status but was no longer at the peak of his career that ended with his death a few years later. The plaque on the fountain reads: "1960–2010, here the champion quenched his thirst, after fifty years on the run".

Sport

There is the Elba Football Team that represents the Island. They became approved as

ConIFA The Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) is the international governing body for association football teams that are not affiliated with FIFA. Competitions Women's football All members of CONIFA are encouraged to inv ...

member at the Annual General Meeting 2020. It is not affiliated with FIFA or

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

, and therefore cannot compete for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

or in the

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

. It is, however, affiliated to

, and play in the ConIFA European Football Cup. Elba Island played their first game as a

member on

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

11th 2021 against the Sicily Football Team scoring a 4–4 tie against them.

Gallery

File:Elba Enfola.jpg, Enfola Beach File:Marciana Marina - Hafen und Monte Capanne.jpg,

File:Capoliveri Elbe Elba.JPG, Capoliveri File:Fetovaia01.jpg, Fetovaia beach File:Bandiera Elba.svg, Flag of Elba File:Elba Drunken cake.jpg, Schiaccia briaca (drunken cake) from Elba and Aleatico (Elban wine) used in the recipe

References

External links

* - * {{Authority control

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

Islands of Tuscany Islands of the Tyrrhenian Sea Arcipelago Toscano National Park Palaces and residences of Napoleon Wine regions of Italy Former monarchies Island countries