Discovering the municipalities on the island of Elba

Some numbers about the Island of Elba
The island of Elba has an area of 223 square kilometers and the territory is divided into 8 different municipalities. The inhabitants are about 32 thousand. This is the first information that usually surprises travelers: there are as many as 8 different municipalities here.

The municipalities are so historically strong and independent that they have developed different traditions and customs since ancient times. One of the distinctive traits that jumps out most is the type of subsistence economy of the different villages: there are those who live by fishing and those who, over the centuries, have always relied on sheep farming or mining.

What do people live on on the Island of Elba?
Tourism is certainly a strong point of the economy of the Island of Elba, but it would be wrong to think that this is the only way to live on our territory. An island like ours discovered tourism thanks to the arrival of a very famous exile. Napoleon, in fact, was one of the testimonials - if we can say so - who, for the first time, described his stay on the island.

Until the 19th century, in general throughout Europe, the possibility of spending time at sea was only a noble legacy and the islands began to be fashionable after the arrival of Napoleon in Elba. For this reason, our island has always developed many different economic activities. Just to give an example, Rio, one of the municipalities of the island, has been a town inhabited mainly by miners.

Portoferraio Portoferraio is the island's main town and around 12 thousand people live here. The town is very old and some say that it was the landing place of Jason and his Argonauts.

In the 13th century it was given the name of Ferraia, from which Porto Ferraio derives. During the Renaissance, it was the seat of an important Jewish community, and its inhabitants included the De' Medici family.

Porto Azzurro Porto Azzurro. Did you know it has Spanish origins? The original settlement is older but, in 1600, the town developed as a possession of the Spanish crown.

Capoliveri Elba, in the hills. Capoliveri is a municipality that looks down on the sea from above. Of Etruscan-Roman origin, Capoliveri was called Campo Libero ( free field ) in the Middle Ages.

Campo nell'Elba Another very important municipality, Campo nell'Elba is a town with a great seafaring vocation. It too has a very ancient history, but it is with the Renaissance that its character is most evident. Here you will find the Fetovaia beach, which is very popular with tourists who make the Island of Elba their holiday destination.

Marciana Another inland municipality, linked more to the mountains than to the sea. Marciana is the right place to see, during a holiday on the Island of Elba, if you love archaeological finds. Here in fact, some interesting finds have been made.

Rio nell'Elba e Marina As we said at the beginning of this post, Rio is the town of the miners and is located inland on the Island of Elba. It was the main mining centre on our island. Rio Marina was the support site for mining activities. Here was loaded when extracted from the mines. Today, however, this municipality has become one of the tourist centres on the Island of Elba.

Marciana Marina We conclude this journey through the towns on the Island of Elba with Marciana Marina Here is a perfect place to take photos if you are looking for narrow streets and really picturesque outlets on the sea, Marciana Marina is one of those places capable of capturing more than just light in a photograph.