Malpasso di Rio beach, Rio, Island of Elba

Malpasso beach sits at the foot of asteep, rocky coast, south of Topinetti beach, between the Vigneria and Rio Albano mines.

The name itself tells you how difficult it is to get there, in fact if you decide to go there by land you have to start off at the more northern Ripa Bianca beach and walk acoss the rocks along the coast.

This beach consists of sand, pebbles and large, dark coloured stones above all in the part along the water's edge.

The entire area is very rich in minerals and this enriches the beach with a wide range of colours that are so typical of the beaches on this part of the island.

The sand consists of thousands of lamellas of iron minerals and hematite microcrystals and most of the pebbles on the beach are simply cast metal waste products, made up of several different elements - above all iron - that come from the working of this mineral when the nearby mines were in use.

The cliffs too behind the beach are reddish coloured with a hint of black because of the presence of iron.

On days when there is no wind or even just a north-west breeze the water is very clean and clear.

Mapasso di Rio is perfect for those in search of peace and quiet and, thanks to the beautiful sea bed, it is very popular amongdeep sea diving lovers.

The beach is wild and has no facilities, and the fact that it is so difficult to get there means it is very popular among yachtsmen.

Facing eastwards.

How to get to Malpasso di Rio

By sea more or less. It is infact difficult to get to the beach if you decide to walk across the rocks along the coast from Ripa Bianca.