Elba Island
The Nature of Elba
A continent in miniature: within a few kilometres, the sea of the whales and dolphins, the scented scrub, the mouflon of Monte Capanne and the rock that shaped the island's history.
Elba is Italy's third-largest island, yet it feels like many islands in one: the granite coast to the west, the iron mountains to the east, the Mediterranean macchia that scents everything, and a sea that is an international protected area. That variety, in so little space, is what makes it unique.
You don't need to be a naturalist to notice: a boat trip to cross paths with dolphins, a walk in the scrub to smell heather and strawberry tree, a glance at Monte Capanne to understand why the mouflon chose it. Here is what lives around our homes.
The Cetacean Sanctuary
The sea
Elba lies within the Pelagos Sanctuary, the marine protected area for marine mammals established in 1999 by Italy, France and Monaco: 87,500 km² of some of the richest sea in the Mediterranean.
Dolphins
bottlenose and striped · seen from the boat
The species easiest to meet off Elba are the bottlenose and the striped dolphin, often in a pod riding the bow wave. Now and then a Risso's dolphin appears too. Whale-watching trips leave from Marina di Campo and the other harbours.
Fin whales and sperm whales
in the deep blue of the Sanctuary
Offshore, where the seabed plunges, the Pelagos Sanctuary is home to the fin whale — the second-largest animal on the planet — and the sperm whale, along with pilot whales, Risso's dolphins and beaked whales. Rare encounters, but possible in Elba's waters.
The monk seal
a symbol species · recently sighted
The Mediterranean monk seal, among the rarest marine mammals in the world, has begun to show itself again in the Tuscan Archipelago. A sign of how much this protected sea is healing.
The fish of these depths
dentex, amberjack, tuna, swordfish
Close to shore swim sea bream, saddled bream and scorpionfish; further out the common dentex and the amberjack, and in open water tuna and swordfish. As the water warms, the tropical-coloured parrotfish appears too.
Turtles and harmless sharks
loggerhead · blue shark
The loggerhead sea turtle frequents these waters and nests ever more often on the Tuscan coasts. Offshore lives the blue shark, a shy pelagic shark harmless to people: part of the balance of a healthy sea.
The champions of this sea
Carlo Gasparri · Renzo Mazzarri
These depths produced two legends of spearfishing: Carlo Gasparri, world champion in 1969 and several times European champion, and Renzo Mazzarri, three-time world champion and among the greatest freedivers of all time. Both born and raised on Elba: here, the sea shapes those who breathe it.
Land wildlife
The land
From the ridges of Monte Capanne to the low scrub, Elba is home to wildlife surprising for an island — with one emblem above all.
The mouflon
the island's symbol · slopes of Monte Capanne
Introduced in the 1960s, the mouflon — a wild sheep with curved horns that from afar looks like a mountain goat — adapted perfectly and lives mainly on the rocks of Monte Capanne. To spot one at dawn, outlined on the ridge, is an image of the real Elba.
Wild boar and small mammals
woods and undergrowth
Wild boar are found all over the island: shy, but their diggings show everywhere in the undergrowth. With them the hare, the pine marten, the hedgehog and a rich population of bats that animate Elba's nights.
Birds of prey
peregrine falcon, kestrel, buzzard
On the cliffs nests the peregrine falcon — the fastest of all birds — along with the kestrel, the buzzard and the massive raven. At dusk out come the barn owl and the long-eared owl. Look up along the headlands.
Scrub birds and migrants
blackcap, swift, woodcock, pheasant
The macchia sings with blackcaps and small songbirds; in summer swifts slice the sky above the villages. In autumn migrants such as the woodcock arrive, while the introduced pheasant lives in the cultivated fields.
The island's scent
The Mediterranean macchia
Arriving at Elba, you smell it before you see it: the air of heather, cistus and strawberry tree. The macchia is the island's green soul.
Tree heather and its root
up to 4 metres · a precious wood
Tree heather forms woods up to four metres high. From its root — the "radica" — comes a hard, prized wood: the very wood from which, in 1988, the first Locman watch was born in Marina di Campo. A thread linking Elba's scrub to watchmaking.
Strawberry tree and cistus
the tall macchia
The strawberry tree, with its red autumn berries, and the cistus that in May covers the slopes with white and pink flowers are the heart of the macchia. With them myrtle, mastic, broom and rosemary: the scent that stays with you.
Holm oaks, cork oaks and pines
the island's woods
Where the scrub becomes forest grow the holm oak, which once covered the island, and the thick-barked cork oak. Along the coast the maritime pine smells of resin; in the gardens cypress and stone pine draw the horizon.
The chestnuts of Capanne
Marciana · high ground
High up, on the flanks of Monte Capanne above Marciana, the centuries-old chestnut groves survive — the same among which Napoleon pitched his tent at Madonna del Monte. Cool shade and autumn fruit, another face of Elba.
Geology
The rock
Elba is famous among geologists the world over: on a single island, granite, sedimentary rock and iron mountains meet. Three islands in one, underfoot as well.
The granite of Monte Capanne
west side
All of the island's west is a single mass of granite, born from magma: Monte Capanne, 1,019 metres, is its peak. It is the granite the villages of San Piero and Sant'Ilario are built from, and on which the smooth coves of Fetovaia and Seccheto open.
The gems of San Piero
tourmalines and minerals
In the pegmatite veins of the granite, around San Piero, are crystals that made Elba famous in the world's mineralogical museums: coloured tourmalines, quartz, beryl and other rarities. The Celleri Museum, in the village, keeps them.
The iron of the east
Rio and Calamita · 3,000 years of mines
The eastern side is another rock entirely: hematite, pyrite and magnetite glinting in the sun. Iron was mined here for three thousand years, from the Etruscans until 1981. The green Terranera lake and the Rio mines still tell that story.
Frequently asked questions about Elba's nature
Can you see dolphins on Elba Island?
Yes: Elba lies within the Pelagos Sanctuary and the most common species offshore are the bottlenose and striped dolphin. Whale-watching trips leave from Marina di Campo too. Sightings are more frequent in calm sea, in the morning.
What animals live on Elba Island?
On land the mouflon (the island's symbol, on Monte Capanne), wild boar, hare and pine marten; among birds the peregrine falcon, buzzard, blackcap and swifts. At sea dolphins, turtles and, increasingly, the monk seal.
Why is Elba famous among geologists?
Because within a few kilometres it holds granite (to the west, Monte Capanne), sedimentary rock (in the centre) and iron minerals (to the east). The tourmalines of San Piero and the hematite of Rio are in mineralogical museums worldwide.
What is the Mediterranean macchia you smell on Elba?
It's the island's wild vegetation: tree heather, strawberry tree, cistus, myrtle, mastic, broom and rosemary. It's what gives Elba's air its unmistakable scent, especially in spring and after rain.
Live Elba, not just the beach
Three homes in Marina di Campo, between the sea of the dolphins and the scrub of Capanne. Write to us and Giovanni will reply in person.
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