Elba Museum of Minerals and Mineral Art in Rio Marina

The Elba Museum of Island of Elba Minerals and Mineral Art is part of the Island of Elba Mineral Park project. It is in the Palazzo del Burò in the centre of Rio Marina that years ago was home to the Mining Offices.The historical mining archive, consisting of papers and documents about mining in Elba, is in the same building.

There is a very important and truly beautiful collection of about 1000 samples of minerals and stones from the Island of Elba in the Museum, collected from the 1960s onwards by the Elba Mines Operating Company.
Not only that, the true to life settings of the original mine have been recreated inside the museum, like the workshop of the blacksmiths, with some of the original tools that were found in the mining yards, and the lifesize copy of a tunnel with real equipment found in the mines after they were closed down. All this is like a journey across the geo-mineralogical past of the Island of Elba.

You can also watch interesting historical documentaries of the past about how the iron was extracted, and view some photographs of the old mines of Rio Marina and Capoliveri.

As well as visiting the actual Museum, if you wish you can also take part in an excursion across the Mineral Park in Rio Marina.