 Saturday, July 04, 2009 |
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The minerals of Elba IslandGeologically, the Island is divided into three parts:
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.” Historical Notes attributed to Pseudo Aristotle III-II centuries BC
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.
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.
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: | The Mines | La storia delle miniere | Le miniere | La capitale del ferro | Parco Minerario | Photo Gallery | |
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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
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.
