The minerals of Island of Elba
History of Minerals
Geologically, the Island is divided into three parts:
- The eastern part with Monte Capanne: granite, tourmaline, beryl, serpentine and porphyry;
- The central part is formed on the eastern area out of 'diabasi' and serpentine; on the western area with quartz- porphyry, limestone and granite;
- The eastern part presents a more complex composition: to the south with the Monte Calamita and a part of the coast between Porto Azzurro and Rio Marina is composed of paleozoic mica-schist, feldspar, quartz, tourmaline and marble. In the environment of Capoliveri there are porphyry and calcareous masses, the northern part is the richest in minerals such as, oligist, limonite and magnetite, you can even find slate and carbon schists, Permian pudding-stones and mesozoic limestones.
Information on the history of minerals is quoted from the published text by Graziano Rinaldi: "Elba, the Island of Minerals" - edited by the Tourist Promotion Office of the Tuscan Archipelago.
"They say that in Etruria , there is an Island named Aethalia, where copper was first mined, which was used for producing hand-made articles, then no more was found, after a long, long time in the same mine iron was found, which the Etruscans living in Populonia still use."
De Mirabilibus Auscultationibus
Historical Notes attributed to Pseudo Aristotle III-II centuries BC
It is the crystal transparencies of the sea and a land dominated by the greenness of the Mediterranean vegetation that have determined the tourist wealth of the island of Elba. But to find the most precious treasures the island possesses, you have to search for it under the ground. That is the reason why for more than 4,000 years generations of miners have excavated looking for copper and then for iron. Even the most antique name of the island (Aethalia) comes from the fire issuing from the iron furnaces, which were numerous during the time when the Greeks crossed the Tyrrhenian Sea between the Italian colonies and Marseilles.
The Western part of the world did not know about the power of Rome, but all over the Mediterranean they knew, that between Corsica and Etruria there was an island rich of iron.
Nevertheless the Island of Elba made the fortune of the Etruscans, the most refined of the Italic civilisation.
The island seemed so full of minerals that since antiquity the legend of never ending-mines was handed down from generation to generation. During the centuries the abundance and the pureness of haematite have been the background of vicissitudes of life, but in October 1981 the last mine on the island was closed.
After centuries of exploitation the mines are no longer mined by miners, but by collectors and mineral searchers. To tell the truth, even the old miners knew the "tricks about iron". With this name they meant the crystals of extraordinary forms and unusual colours. The Haematite of Elba with rose-crystals is displayed in every museum. In the XVII century N. Stenone studied haematite and quartz and therefore discovered the modern crystallography.
The mine zones on the eastern part of the island, which have now been abandoned, are the right places for people who want to immerse themselves in a suggestive and coloured landscape made of silence and antique lands, places which have been completely transformed by human activity, but which seem to have conserved their own power, which takes us back to the primordial time of our planet.
From a scientific point of view Elba is not only the 'land of iron', it is also 'a huge open-air mineralogical museum', as Bernardino Lotti defined Elba at the end of the 19th century: He was the geologist who first drew an accurate geological map of the island that is still sold today.
To the west, on mount Capanne, iron has never been mined, but for at least 150 years scholars and collectors from all over the world have been interested in this mountain. There are veins of splendid tourmaline and Beryl crystals besides other numerous and rare minerals. There fore it would not be unusual to say that Elba is known all over the world for the beauty, rarity and scientific interest of its minerals.
Please note: The National Park regulations severely punish anyone who digs for minerals without a specific authorisation from the National Park Board.
Where to see the minerals:
On the island you can visit two exclusively Elban mineral museums. The "Alfeo Ricci" Elban Mineral Museum in Capoliveri. The exhibition is in the historical town centre and displays more than 700 samples.
The "Erisia Gennai Tonietti" Museo dei Minerali e dell'Arte Mineraria in Rio Marina, the exhibition is in the Town Hall and there are 24 show cases with about 1,000 samples on display with detailed information about places of origin.
At 'Giannini Minerali' in Porto Azzurro, you can see a private collection (free entrance), or the 'Piccola Miniera' (Little Mine) an interesting underground didactic itinerary where a mine has been realistically reproduced.
