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Last minute booking 2 Special offers 7 Apartaments 218 Small villas and detached houses 17 Bed & breakfast 16 Hotels 79 Villas 7 Residences 47 Farm holiday centres 14 Campsites 19 Farm holiday campsites 1
  1. Island of Elba
  2. Discovering Elba
  3. Geology of Elba
    • The Calamita mines
    • Island of Elba Mineral Park
    • Minerals
    • Granite

Geological origins of the Island of Elba in the Tuscan Archipelago

Pluton formation on Monte Capanne, ancestor of the entire Tuscan Archipelago

The myth tells that Aphrodite, taken by "the virginal love talks, and laughter, and deceptions, and the sweet solace with the sweetest kisses of honey" (Hesiod, Theogony), being born already as a woman from the foam of the sea, slipped her necklace off her neck, and its pearls settled on the surface of the waters. Seven fell between Tuscany and Corsica, giving rise to the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the Island of Elba is the largest pearl.

Geology tells us of a completely different origin, different but no less fascinating.

We must go back to the time of the drift of the continents, when Pangea began to break apart, opening new oceans and closing others, and specifically, we must go back to the collision between the proto-African plate and the proto-European plate, their subsequent rotation, and their separation.

The continuous movements of these two plates (lasting over 100 million years) led to the sinking of entire crustal blocks, invaded by sea waters, and the simultaneous thinning of the Earth's surface.

This process favored the rise of a magmatic mass, which, cooling near the surface, turned into granite rock and began to exert a strong pressure on the rocky states on the surface.

This is the pluton of Monte Capanne, the progenitor of the entire Tuscan Archipelago, which, when emerging on the surface, caused the sliding of sedimentary rocks towards the east, giving rise to the plains of the central area of the Island of Elba, and exerting a greater pressure in the eastern area, hindering the emergence of a second pluton.

The position of this second eastern pluton, smaller than the western one, manifests itself on the surface through magmatic veins that, in contact with hydrothermal fluids and pre-existing sedimentary and limestone rocks, give rise to the great and famous mineral wealth of the Island of Elba.

If the median belt, where Monte Capanne rises, is mainly composed of granites, tourmalines, beryls, serpentines, and porphyries, and the central belt is made up, to the east, of diabases and serpentines, and to the west, of quartz porphyry, alberese, and granite, the eastern belt presents a greater complexity of composition.

The southern part of Monte Calamita and the stretch of coastline between Porto Azzurro and Rio Marina is made of paleozoic mica schists, feldspar, quartz, tourmaline, marbles, dolomites; in the Capoliveri area, there are porphyries and limestone masses; the northern part is the richest in iron minerals, such as oligist, limonite, and magnetite, as well as shale and carbonaceous slates, Permian sandstones and puddingstones, and Mesozoic limestones.

Curiosity: Thanks to the data collected as part of the CARG project of the Geological Survey of Italy (ISPRA), the Tuscany Region, and the University of Florence, in 2015 the new Geological Map of the Island of Elba was created and presented.
This project also led to the creation of a series of geological maps for educational purposes titled "Geological Itineraries": a tourist-cultural guide to discover those places that are particularly significant for understanding the history and geological evolution of the Elba territory.
View the Geological Map of the Island of Elba

The Calamita mines

The mines of Capoliveri are Calamita, Ginevro, and a small site called Sassi Neri.

Ginevro mine

The only underground mine open to visitors on Elba Island, part of the Capoliveri mining complex.
Read more

Calamita Mines

Steep slabs that go right down as far as the sea, consisting of shiny black rocks streaked with blue and green that go across the entire territory.
Read more

Sassi Neri mine

The tiny, Sassi Neri lake is avery scenic tourist attraction in the area; it exists thanks to years of filling up the mining well.
Read more

Island of Elba Mineral Park

There are excursions to the Mineral Park from the Mineral Museum in Rio Marina Read more

Minerals

The history of the Island of Elba and that of its mines are one and the same thing.

Eastern side

Hematite, limonite, pyrite, ilvaite and magnetite: the minerals on the eastern side of the Island of Elba.
Read more

Western side

Tourmaline, beryllium, orthoclase and quartz: the minerals on the western side of the Island of Elba.
Read more

Granite

The granite from Elba was exported and used in many important historical sites, like the Pantheon and the Colosseum. Read more

You might also like...

Rio Elba Civic Archaeology MuseumMUM - Mineral Museum Mineral Museum in Rio Marina

Further reading

The history of the minesRio Marina: the iron capitalMining Capoliveri
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  • Travel info
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  • How to reach the island
  • Getting around the island
  • Car and scooter rental
  • Online scooter rental
  • Taxi and car hire
  • Elba Island
  • Beaches and coasts
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  • What to see
  • Tuscan Archipelago National Park
  • Recommended itineraries
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  • Wine & Food Experience
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  • Boat trips
  • Elba by bike
  • Events and festivals
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  • Boat rental
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