Elba in Roman Times

ELBA IN ROMAN TIMES

From the decline of Etruscan power, the Romans inherited the iron and steel industry, but also saw the value in the granite deposits, the curative mud found at the hot springs of San. Giacomo, the beauty in the landscape, and the excellence of the wine. "The island of good wine", is what Plinio il Vecchio called it. And so a heavy traffic of amphoras laden ships took off.. Many remains of these amphoras, as well as other relics recovered from the sea that tell the story of ancient navigation, can be found in the Archeological Museums of Portoferraio and Marciana. In the scenic gulfs rose the great patrician villas of the Linguella, of the Grottoes and of Capo Castello, now, as then, places of great delight. The Romans called Elba, Ilva and during the first century of domination. They followed their use of the mineral resources by forming the first commercial centers on all of the islands of the Archipelago which then led to a tourist tradition "ante litteram". And so sprouted the patrician residences, of which the most interesting are in Giannutri, Pianosa and Elba. At the fall of the Roman Empire, commercial traffic fell off considerably creating a demographic crisis leading to the depopulation of almost all the islands.

THE ECLIPSE OF ELBAN IRON

In the Roman age, the Tyrrhenic mining region suffered a general crisis that involved the whole Italic mining industry. The competition with Spanish mines brought about the lessening of production. The definitive cessation was probably fixed by a law recorded by Plinio il Vecchio (Nat. Hist. III, 20, 138; XXXIII, 21, 78). A confirmation of the progressive dismantling of the Popolonese iron and steel industry is given in a description by geographer Strabone (from the Augustan period) who visited an impoverished city. The mines scattered in the outskirts, seemed deserted by time(Geog. V, 2, 7). The territory , during this time in fact, experienced a new utilization centered on agriculture. There are still ruins of numerous villas visible on the islands of the Archipelago (for example the villas of Grotte and Portoferraio) and along the coast. The situation didn't change much during the course of the Empire. The traveler, Rutilio Namaziano, landed at Popolonia in the winter of 417 A.D., and it seemed to him a city by then abandoned where " no one would be able to recognize the monuments from times gone by there remained only traces of crumbled and collapsed walls and roofs, buried in vast ruins"

CHRISTIANITY

Pianosa was repopulated by the first Christians who excavated the complex catacombs of the island. From this time, the history of the islands and Christianity are intertwined. In the Middle Ages, the Archipelago became a refuge for monks and hermits who erected monasteries and parishes, the remains of which blend wonderfully with the natural landscape. The ancient traces of the Christian faith can be discovered in the countryside and the turns of the mountains. Capraia was visited by Eudossius, who built the little church of Santo Stefano Protomartire in the valley of Piano. The bishop of Palermo, Mamiliano, arrived on Mt Giove after fleeing from the servitude of the Vandals. He lived there, and as legend says, fought a dragon who finally succumbed after a tremendous struggle. The island was then renamed Montecristo. San Cerbone, bishop of Massa Marittma and Popolonia, sought reuge on Elba while fleeing the invasion of Longobardi. The sanctuary of the same name on the trail to Monte Capanne is today the site of many pilgrimages. With the second millennium, the history of the Archipelago becomes intertwined with that of the Marine Republic and the principality of Tuscany: Pisa, Genoa, and the Apians of Piombino. In this period, many religious buildings were erected: the church of San Giovanni in Campo, of San Nicolo' at San Piero, and San Quirico at Gorgona, the wall at Giglio Castle, and the forts San. Giorgio on Capraia, extensively redone durino the renaissance. The islands of the Archipelago were sacked by pirate incursions, and from the 1500's to the unification of the Republic, became the theater of run ins and disputes between the rulers of the time. Precious remnants remain from this time period, but in particular those of Elban custom.  The wonderful result of the medici culture was the creation of Portoferraio, the ancient Cosmopolis, much wanted by Cosimo I. It is has an enchanting historical center defended by the three forts, Stella, Falcone, and La Linguella and the towers of Martello and the Porta a Mare. The Spanish settled in Porto Longone, currently Porto Azzurro, where they built the Fort San Giacomo. The most fascinating work of the Spanish culture on Elba is surely the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Monserrato, that along with the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the Mount and of Saint Catherine in Eremo are some of the most significant places of faith on the whole of the island.