We are going to take you to explore an area that is rich in the most ancient traditions of Elba. In the blissful surroundings that this island offers, with views of the beaches and islands of the Archipelago, we will wander among the remains of the ancient granite quarries used first by the Romans and then, during the late Middle Ages, by the inhabitants of Pisa. Starting from the village of San Piero, which, not surprisingly, has many granite decorations, we will take you along a route that is a perfect combination of the harshness of the mountains, the beauty of the sea and the glorious granite tradition.
Altre immagini
Località di partenza:
Regione Toscana, Provincia di Livorno, Portoferraio
“Sentieri nell’Elba di sud ovest”, an excellent guide published by Associazione albergatori Costa del sole. Or, Multigraphic, Carta turistica e dei sentieri, Isola d’Elba, 1:25000
Note:
Departure and arrival place: the village of San Piero in Campo which
you reach from Portoferraio taking the provincial highways nos. 24, 25
and 29 as far as the village centre. Or from Marina di Campo following
the state highways nos. 25 and 29
From piazzale Belvedere, near the church of San Niccolò and the
Spanish-style fortress, in a bastion where the granite museum will be
opened, we take via Vittorio Emanuele II in the direction of the bell
tower, at the base of which we find via San Rocco which we follow as
far as the cemetery. Here we take via delle cave, leaving the village
of San Piero behind us. We continue climbing as far as the sports field
and just after this we arrive at a junction with signs for paths 7 and
35; we turn right and, after turning left at the next junction, face
the climb that takes us to the area of the modern quarries, now almost
all abandoned. We follow a path that passes over the granite and which
we leave for a less steep earthen one. We go in the direction of a
shoulder that we pass, keeping the headland of Fetovaia that sticks out
into the sea as our reference. We are in an open area where we can see
in front of us Corsica and to the south the islands of Montecristo and
Pianosa.
We continue as far as the Moncione Mill, turning left at a sharp bend
after the small purification tank: beyond this we see the collection
tank that used to supply water to the mill. After ten minutes we arrive
at a turn-off to the left where we leave the path and descend towards
the first quarry with the remains of numerous pieces of industrial
equipment. The signs we see on the granite were made by the wedges used
to carve out the chunks of granite to be processed. Here we find a
beautiful column that is an excellent example of the finished centring
process. Generally, the processes were not finished in order to avoid
breakage when the granite was transported down hill. Then we go on to
the second quarry which we can already see from here, and where we pass
literarily right through the middle of the great hunk of rock from
which the blocks were cut. We descend, with a view of the beach at
Cavoli below us, until we reach an enormous granite rock completely
excavated by erosion, creating an inner corridor and one of the most
unusual cattle sheds in the area. We continue our descent diagonally to
the right and find ourselves in the third quarry with its numerous
ruins; in particular, below this, we find the “field of columns” given
this name because of the great variety of excellent visible works. From
here we return to the cattle shed we saw before and descend below
it, walking over large granite rocks. We cut across the mountain in the
direction of the warehouses on the opposite hill and come to the stream
coming from the mill. We follow it as far as the path that we take to
ford it. We climb up the east slope in the direction of San Piero until
we reach the area of the active quarries (only two are still in
operation) and we come in sight of the sports field. Here we keep to
the left, entering the village of San Piero from the north west and
crossing it to reach our departure point.
This
itinerary is part of a collection that the magazine “Trekking”,
together with the APT (Provincial Tourist Authority) of the Tuscan
Coast, has dedicated to the most beautiful trekking routes in this
area. A series of itineraries that will help you discover lovely places
and will introduce you to a district that has great environmental and
cultural appeal.
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