Navy Campese

The municipality of Campo nell’Elba was built in 1894 separated from Marciana Marina. The hilly landscape of San Piero and S. Ilario, the village of La Pila and the Island of Pianosa were part of the new community, which in 1901 counted 3633 total population.

The economic activities in the region were in primarily the agricultural and mining of granite and kaolin. Parallel to the development of these activities, was a fleet of small and medium size vessels formed to transport goods (white, red wine and granite) to the ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea and beyond.

A young man could exercise the following activities: work as a farmer or as a bricklayer for the numerous quarries in the region. Those who wanted a more profitable job chose the sea route and lossegeln age of 13. At the end of the 18th Century were due to the spread of phylloxera, the number of shares of Vines have been lost, with young and less younger farmers forced to emigrate to America.

Some families of Campesi decided to invest in the construction of sailing ships to transport local products to numerous ports. Thus arose Virginia and Rosina of Ulisse Tesei, il Gorilla, Le Due Sorelle, la Madre Giuseppina of the Family Mattera; il Papà Nicola from Leopoldo Retali. Il San Giorgio of Amerigo Mattera, are now in the scientific and technical Museeum of Milano held; Il Maria Luisa from B. Gaetano Danesi, la Volontà di Dio from the brothers Pennello and many more.

On these ships ruled skillful commanders, whose names became legends: Mattera, Danesi, Galeazzi, Spinetti, and Russomanno, the brothers Pennello, Bontempelli, Tacchella, Battaglini, Natucci, who made generations of seamen and had sailed all the oceans of the world.

Among them there were many people that crossed the oceans several times and the dreaded Cape Horn repeated with the overcoming of incredible storms and under difficult conditions, without Comfort had crossed. To send the money earned to their families, they had to bear especially the cold and the heat, but also diseases such as scurvy, which she brought in addition to their physical limits. Many had suffered shipwrecks and sometimes took the men to death in the wave. Often, only a plaque erected in the
cemetery reminded of the family or friends in their existence and their strong contribution to the growth of the country.

To all these “great sailors” of the Navy Mercantile, for those who are first for the Regia Marina and then sailed for the Marine Militare. These have made the name of Campo nell’Elba known to the world’s oceans.

Quite different ran the fishing section, which was made of few local fishermen. If we browse through the old licenses, we find local names (Tacchella, Battaglini, Dini, Gentini), which with small boats only the residents of Marina di Campo and the area supplied, as opposed to the zone of Marciana and Portoferraio, where considerable tuna bodies was.

It was not until 1926/1927 we find the names of fishermen of Pozzuoli and the island of Ponza, (Greco, Constantino, Tue Fraia, Di Santo). The fishing wealth in the areas between Monte Cristo, and Pianosa Africhella attracting more and more fishermen of Ponza (Sandolo, Vitiello, Mazzella, Scotto). After a few years the families moved to Elba, what has contributed a significant contribution to the (current) fishery. All willing and able fishermen, who had made a great sacrifice, became a social part of Campo.

Even after the war the area of Campo continued good sailor and commander for all Types of ships, military, trade and peoplecreated traffic.

Many years passed, but many names were unchanged: Mattera, Dini, Battaglini, Vitiello, Ditel ...
The tradition continues!

 

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