Mythology has it that Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of beauty and love, was visiting one of her many lovers on the Italian mainland when she accidentally broke her string of pearls, and in doing so formed the Tuscan Archipelago, the chain of islands that straddles the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas between Tuscany and Corsica, of which Elba is by far the largest. And it was here on Elba, on the island that the Greeks called Aethalia – and specifically at Le Ghiaie, which we will be visiting ourselves in due course – that Jason and the Argonauts are said to have landed after taking the Golden Fleece. They played discus with the pebbles they found on the beach.
Today the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago – Elba, Giglio, Capraia, Montecristo, Pianosa, Giannutri and Gorgona, plus a few other uninhabited rocks – are part of a designated marine reserve. You will also know that Elba was a place of exile for Napoleon Bonaparte; it was granted to him in return for his abdication as Emperor with the signing of the Treaty of Fontainebleau in 1814. Beyond this, however, you may not know much about the place as Elba is a secret that the British are largely yet to discover. Spending 48 hours in Portoferraio, Elba’s capital, seems the perfect introduction, and I would recommend visiting out of season, and especially in May. The sea is warming up but very clean, the beaches are relatively quiet, and the macchia mediterranea, (le maquis, in French, and sometimes English) the wild coastal scrubland, is in colourful bloom.
