The Etruscans History in Elba Island

ELBA ISLAND THE FORTUNE OF THE ETRUSCANS

The natural mineral wealth of the Tyrhennic coast and islands was one of the principle sources of the Etruscan fortune until the end of the iron age (9th-8th century B.C.). Today one can see significant relics housed in modern museums like those in Campiglia Marittma, Rio Marina, Rio nell'Elba and Capoliveri. It was truly thanks to the commerce of crude and worked minerals that the Etruscan aristocrats succeeded in accumulating exceptional wealth made up in part by many valuable products coming from the East. Most probably, Elba, already famous in ancient times for the abundance of its mineral deposits, represented the principle place in the 1st century for working with extracted materials. And so rose the forges that day and night smelted the ore that released sparks high in the sky, and as told by Aristotle, the original name of the island, given by the Greek sailors, was Aethalia (spark), and it was well known all over the Hellenic world. Still today, many remnants of this antique industry can be identified like those in the small archeological museum in Rio nell'Elba that, together with a modern reconstruction of the Etruscan smelting-furnaces in the Parco Sperimentale in Portoferraio, allows us to retrace the roots of this industry. The enormous quantity of wood necessary to fuel the huge furnaces provoked a rapid deforestation of the island. To get around the cost of transporting the wood over the water, it was decided to move the plants to the continent. In the 6th century B.C., Popolonia became one of the principle places designated to work the Elban iron. One can still see significant traces in the industrial area of Porcareccia that makes up a part of the Archeological Park of Baratti and Popolonia. Elba, however, did not constitute the only metaliferous basin in ancient Etruria. In the areas of Tarquinia and Cerveteri there were abundant deposits of iron and copper, in the Volterrana and Aretino areas there were cupriferous deposits, while the region of the Metaliferous Hills provided the area of Vetulonia with an ample range of precious minerals (like galena and chalcopyrite along with argentiferous). Of this last area, the most noted and investigated site is the village of Accesa that, together with the Archeological Museum of Massa Marittma, offers an interesting slice of the evolution of Etruscan society in relation to iron ore industry of the area.

ELBA THE FORTUNE OF THE ETRUSCANS For the rest it was really Elba that made the fortune of the Etruscans, the most refined amongst Italian culture. The island appeared so rich in minerals that from antiquity the legend of the inexhaustible mines was handed down. For centuries, the abundance and purity of Elban hematite colored the backdrop of the human events on the island, but in 1981, the last iron mine on Elba was closed. After centuries of intense use, the old mines are no longer frequented by miners, but by mineral collectors and researchers. The truth is even the old quarrymen knew of the �works of iron�. By this they meant the most extravagantly shaped and unusually colored crystals. Elba micaceous hematite with its characteristic pinkish crystals can be found in museums world wide. Back in the 1700's, the laws of modern crystallography were discovered by N. Stenone as he studied Elban hematite and quartz. After five centuries of Etruscan domination, there are still the remains of various necropolis, smaelting-furnaces, and hill towns, set in incomparable landcapes.

THE SUCCESSORS The first permanent settlers to take advantage of the enormous mineral resourses on the Isle of Elba were the Etruscans. In 453 B.C. , the Romans followed the Etruscans and thanks totheir great and sophisticated organizational machine, they were better able to use the resources by building mines on the island and then smelting-furnaces along the Maremmana Coast. In the period of decadence of the Roman Empire, the island was invaded by Longobardi and then submitted to the Duchy of Lucca. It was exposed to incursion by Greek, Norman and Sarcene pirates, who dominated in the 10th century, till the advent of the Pisans in the 11th century who lost it following the skirmish of Meloria in 1284. Under the control of Appian rule, it was exposed (first half of the 16th century) to the raids of Khayr al-Din from which the Medici's profited by conquering Portoferraio. Annexed to France in 1802, from May 1814 to February 1815 the exiled Napoleon reigned there. In 1815 the island was assigned to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.