Discovering the Tuscan archipelago

Capraia Isola - Of the seven islands that make up the Tuscan archipelago, Capraia is the westernmost. It is a volcanic island 8 km long and 4 km wide and the cliffs on the coast immediately reach the 447 meters of Monte Castello; the island also hosts a small lake fed by rainwater and is called 'Stagnone'. The vegetation is typical of the Mediterranean scrub with many protected species as the island is part of the National Park of the Tuscan archipelago.

In ancient times the island housed a colony of monk seals, extinct for decades, whose memory survives in the homonymous cave. The name of the island, on the other hand, would be linked to the presence of wild goats, which are also extinct; others instead connect it to an ancient Etruscan word with the meaning of 'rock' or 'stony place'. Already known by the Greeks and Etruscans, Capraia became an important naval base for the Romans; in the early Middle Ages it was occupied by a community of cenobite monks, who introduced the cultivation of the vine. The Pieve di Santo Stefano, the oldest church on the island, dates back to this period. In the same period Capraia passed from being a Pisan fief to being under Genoese dominion, during the battle of Meloria. The island was repeatedly the subject of assaults by Saracen pirates: after these events the Genoese decided to fortify the island, building the Fort of San Giorgio, the work of the architect Giovanni Maria Olgiati, and 3 watchtowers: the Torre del Porto from 1541, the Torre dello Zenobito from 1545 and the Torre delle Barbici from 1699. In the 1600s the population, which was mostly concentrated inside the Fort, moved to the coast to found the current city of Capraia Isola: the new church of San Nicola was built, the convent of Sant'Antonio in Baroque style and the church of Santa Maria Assunta. In the seventeenth century Capraia was administratively linked to Corsica, which was also under Genoese dominion at the time, and in the same period there was a contrast between Corsica, led by Pasquale Paoli, and Genoa. In 1768 the Corsiva was ceded to France and Capraia, after the Congress of Vienna, was absorbed by the Savoy Kingdom of Sardinia; only in 1925 was it part of the province of Livorno. During the eighteenth century the island experienced a period of strong economic development linked to fishing and maritime trade. Today Capraia has been enhanced by tourism, also attracted by trekking and snorkeling activities. Typical gastronomic products are honey, herbal distillates and fruit jams that grow spontaneously on the island itself.