After holidaymakers fill the restaurants for dinner, evening tranquillity returns to the wide bay of Marina di Campo on Elba. At the other end of the bay, the town centre is brightly lit, and from there the bay curves eastwards in a semicircle with an inviting beach, where several campsites and holiday apartments are located.
From the ruins of a former Roman villa in the wide Bay of Portoferraio, I gaze at the Monte Capanne mountain range, Elba’s highest peak and an excellent hiking area, bathed in golden evening light. The transmission masts can be seen on the summit, while the striking Monte Giove rises to the right.
Halfway between Portoferraio and Marina di Campo lies Procchio Bay, with the town of the same name. After the turn-off for Biodola, the winding road snakes over a pass, where it soon opens up to this fantastic panorama. Behind the bay, the Monte Capanne mountain range rises up.
The island of Elba offers an appealing mountain tour with short sections of easy scrambling, via the route over Le Calanche to Monte Capanne. The path is secured with ropes in a few places and is marked as a Via Ferrata in the Kompass hiking map, which doesn’t quite match the nature of the tour. Nevertheless, only experienced hikers should attempt it. The picnic area on Monte Perone, which is crossed by the scenic road from Campo nell’ Elba to Poggio, makes an ideal starting point for a half-day tour. The tour can also be included as a variation of the entire island crossing GTE, as a traverse of the entire massif, or as a round trip with longer ascents from Poggio. Read more
I enjoyed one of the most beautiful views of Portoferraio’s old town with its harbour, fortresses or the Napoleonic Villa dei Mulini from the “Le Grotte” hill with the ruins of the ancient “Villa Romana”. The open space allows for a panoramic view across the plains of the bay and the mountains in the east of Elba or towards Procchio and Monte Capanne, and it’s well worth a visit, not just in the late afternoon. Between me and the town, numerous ferries commute to the mainland and many sailors arrive before sunset to find a sheltered mooring in the bay or to enjoy the dreamlike atmosphere of the old Darsena harbour.
Rising from the fertile plain south of Portoferraio on Elba is a hill where a Roman villa was built in the 1st century BC – the largest on the Tuscan islands. The remains of the extensive, excavated and partly very artfully constructed walls and a bathing complex reveal the former luxury of the site; the magnificent panoramic views of Portoferraio, San Giovanni and the north-western Elba panorama with Castello del Volterraio greatly enhance the appeal of this exposed location.
The bay of Portoferraio at Elba merges into fertile plains in the south, where fruit, vegetables and also excellent wine are grown, e.g. at the La Chiusa winery. I follow the road from Portoferraio south-east through the plains to the “Punte delle Grotte” hill, which offers wonderful views, e.g. of Portoferraio’s old town, the plains near San Giovanni. Even the ancient Romans knew how to make use of the location and built a large villa there, the remains of which have been excavated and can be visited today. Read more
Last Comments