Portoferraio

There is an archipelago in the Mediterranean where the crystal-clear sea takes on countless hues, lazily lapping against splendid sandy shores, creeping into deep little coves hidden in the vegetation and breaking against imposing rocks. It is the Tuscan Archipelago, with the Island of Elba acting as the leader of its three sisters, the small islands of Capraia, Monte Cristo and Pianosa. Elba preserves numerous memories of its past, and its history tells of prehistoric inhabitants, mines, Etruscans and Romans, pirate raids, bloody battles and the exile of Napoleon. Portoferraio rises on the northwest side of the island, lying on a neck of land pushing out towards the sea and is Elba’s main port. Arriving on the ferry, you get to enjoy the gradual appearance of the island’s profile and its village, up to the entrance to the port, where the dockyard appears in all its fascination, especially at sunset, when the colours of the houses are reflected in the sea, and the Torre del Martello (Hammer Tower) recalls the island’s history. Ghiaie Beach is known as Argon for the presumed shipwreck of the mythical Argonauts, travellers looking for precious metals.