Tonietti Mausoleum in Cavo (Rio Marina)

The Tonietti Mausoleum is located in Cavo, on Monte Lentisco in an isolated and panoramic position.

It was designed around 1900 by the Florentine architect Adolfo Coppedè for the Tonietti family.

The construction was commissioned by Ugo Ubaldo Tonietti, son of Giuseppe, who had been awarded the contract for managing the mines on the Island of Elba in 1888 and who took over after his father's death. The management of the mines, however, was entrusted to Pilade del Buono.

At that time, the company founded by Tonietti and del Buono was not only created to manage the island's minerals but aimed to build a steel industry on the Island of Elba. On July 29, also winning the 1897 contract, Ugo Ubaldo founded, together with his partner, “L'Elba anonymous company of mines and blast furnaces.” It was during this period of growth that Tonietti wanted to build the Mausoleum in memory of his father Giuseppe and as a private family tomb.

The mausoleum was never intended to be a burial place for the family, as it was never granted a cemetery concession.

The Mausoleum is an imposing square-based tower rising vertically, preceded by a marble staircase. This distinctive structure suggests a naval reference, particularly the shape of a lighthouse.

In designing this monument, Coppedè showcased not only his experience as an architect but also as a decorator: in fact, the Art Nouveau decorations can be appreciated on the exterior.

Above the entrance to the mausoleum, above the inscription “Famiglia Tonietti,” there is a depiction of an owl preparing to take flight with its wings spread wide.

On either side of the entrance, guarding the door and the old wrought iron gate, there is a double row of columns enriched with lion heads. Decorative motifs of Roman-imperial inspiration are the large pink prows placed on the two side facades and the threatening protomes on the corners of the first floor.

The second floor is characterized by a large marble insert on which the portholes for interior lighting are cut out, originally closed by stained glass windows, and on which coats of arms with nautical symbols are placed.

At the top of the structure, there is a cupola that recalls, as mentioned earlier, the shape of an ancient lighthouse lantern.

Unfortunately, the environment is quite compromised, especially regarding the interior of the building. The cast iron spiral staircase that allowed access to the first floor, from which one could observe the surrounding panorama—the Tyrrhenian coast and the Island of the Rats—is also in poor condition.