Elba

Introduction

Elba is an island within the Italian region of Tuscany and, after Sicily and Sardinia, is the third largest island of the country. The island has about 31,000 inhabitants.

Geography

Elba is located about 20 kilometres from Piombino on the mainland of Italy. It is largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park. It is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres east of the French island of Corsica.
With a coastline of 147 kilometres, it covers about 224 square kilometres and the highest point is the 1,018-metre high Mount Capanne. The terrain is quite varied, and the most mountainous part of the island can be found to the west. This area is home to many animal species including the mouflon and wild boar, two species that flourish despite the continuous influx of tourists. The central part of the island is a mostly flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres. It is where the major centres can be found: Portoferraio, Campo nell'Elba. To the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 400 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of iron that made Elba famous.

Cities

• Portoferraio - the capital

Weather

Elba has a typical Meditarranean climate with dry sunny and warm summers and mild but wet winters. Temperatures during summer are mostly in the 25-30 °C range while winters are around the 10-15 °C range. Nights are just around 5 °C cooler. The average annual amount of precipitation is around 600 mm, with most of it falling from October to January.

Getting There

By Plane

Marina di Campo Airport (EBA) serves the island and there are seasonal (summer) flights with Intersky to/from Friedrichshafen, Zürich and Munich, with Elba Fly to/from Milan and with Sky Work Airlines to/from Bern.

By Boat

The island is connected to the mainland via the three ferry companies, Toremar, Moby Lines and Blunavy, all offering routes between Piombino and Portoferraio, the capital located in the north, Cavo, Rio Marina and Porto Azzurro, on the east coast of the island

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