House of the Agronomist on the Island of Pianosa

Situated in the city centre of Pianosa, the House of the Agronomist is a building of great historical-artistic interest built in 1875 when, thanks to the governor of Tuscany, the agricultural prison colony in Pianosa was set up. It was built in the "Ponticellian" period (Ponticelli was the prison director from 1871 to 1881) so that the agronomist had a place to stay as well as the prison guards.

After much restoration work that brought much of the lost beauty in the extraordinary facade back to the light, the buiding was turned into a museum route dedicated to themes like the agricultural biodiversity of the island and also the naturalistic resources of the incredible environment that characterizes the Protected Area of both the land and the sea.

The House of the Agronomist is one of the most valuable buidings in Pianosa, built, as was the style at that time, in an eclectic style, with decorative elements that you can also see in other buildings on the island like the Teglia Fort and the Specola Palace.

When the House of the Agronomist was built they used blocks of stone that came right from the island as well as bricks that were made on a previous furnace once in use on the island. The architectural structure of the building is on two floors with a tower in the central part with stairs that lead to the other floors. Over the years several changes have been made, above all the rear area that has undergone the adition of some factory made parts.

During the renovation work the original curves on the facadewere revealed and showed they had once been painted; stratigraphic investigation meant that the original colours reappeared once again. Even the crowning elements that went round the roof were built based on photographs of the past.

The base of the architectural project of the renovation work carried out on the House of the Agronomist included a reception area with two giant screens where you can watch a video with photographs of the island from the air and where you will also learn of the various activities and excursions suggested by the National Park.

The ground floor is dedicated to the history of Pianosa, the prison and the agriculture: in the first hall you will see a photograph of Ponticelli the Agronomist as he welcomes the visitors. A timeline is on a large board and it helps the visitors go across the history of the island and at the same time understand its geological, archaeological and architectural emergencies. The display panels let you see the various eras that have passed with the addition of descriptions and photographs of the island in the past as well as cadastral and old maps. Great importance is given to the agricultural history in recent times as well as that of the production of the Prison colony.

The upper floors are dedicated to the nature on the island.The territory of Pianosa is shown in a plastic model with interactive mode so as you watch you can listen to a descriptive tape with the areas of the island therein that light up, thus giving you a clear idea of the areas described: cliffs and rocks both on land and below the sea, beaches, sand banks, grasslands, garrigues, neglected fields, forests.

One hall is dedicated to the [page id="760" "Pelagos" International Sanctuary for the Protection of Marine Mammals [/page].

The top floor shows some boards on the fauna in Pianosa with a sort of "birdwatching" post from where you can learn about several different birds and also hear how they sing.

On the ground floor towards the exit you will be "greeted" by the sound coming from the seabed of the island that, thanks to underwater videos, they portray a virtual underwater swim in the sea of Pianosa on the walls.

Throughout the entire visit there are touch boards, written in braille, and a registration for those visitors who are visually impaired.