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 After
150 years as a penal settlement, Pianosa was freed and once
again opened its gates to visitors, offering a unique, splendid
and absolutely untouched environment. The presence of prisoners,
initially by the will of Tuscan Grand Dukes and then of the
Italian Republic, actually did keep mass-tourism at a distance
and safeguarded Pianosa's eco-system from the havoc tourist
industry has caused in other areas of the Archipelago. Among
the three Tuscan islands, it is the only one that is leveled.
Pianosa is a true paradise for visitors that appreciate cultural
and environmental values and it offers an incredible historical,
archeological and naturalistic patrimony.
Pianosa preserves a few Paleolithic caves, at Punta Secca
and at Cala Giovanna, that give witness to mans' presence
here 18.000 years ago, but its true archeological treasure
are the catacombs that tell us about the dawn of the Christian
civilization. It is a monumental complex that dates back to
300 - 400 B.C, when the  Christian
prisoners, victims of the imperial persecution, where condemned
to work in the island's tufa mines. Thanks to recent restoration
work, the public will soon be allowed to visit them. On the
Teglia promontory, in front of the small harbor, considered
to be one of the most beautiful in the world, rises the fortress
built by Napoleon that erects on the small 19:th century habitation
where the prison-direction had its seat and the workers their
quarters. The emperor is actually the one to thank for most
of the urban work done at Pianosa, that show his cultural
eclecticism by mixing sober medieval elegance with both oriental
and renaissance particularities. The splendid Cala Giovanna
leads to the unique Roman ruins that have remained on the
island, the baths and Villa di Agrippa, exiled by his uncle
to the heart of the Tuscan archipelago, Emperor Augustus,
out of probable hostility versus the ruling dynasty and killed
in order to guarantee the throne for the favored Tiberius.
The baths of Agrippa have recently been subject to an extensive
restoration performed by Tuscany's Archeological Superintendence
and are since then open to the public.
The impressing wall that rises behind Cala Giovanna, the only
sandy scythe on the island that faces a multi-colored sea,
was erected on the will of General Dalla Chiesa during the
leaden years, when the prison at Pianosa lodged members of
the Mafia and terrorists. Since the penal settlement was closed,
four years ago, some of the prisoners in rehabilitation guarantee
the functioning of essential services, following the directives
of the prison at Porto Azzurro on Elba. Pianosa's morphology
is radically different from the other Tuscan islands due to
its' particular origin. There are no hills on the island and
is for the most part made up of sedimentary rocks and of accumulations
of shells that render colors and shapes that can not be found
elsewhere in the Tuscan sea. One should not miss out on the
view over the splendid cove Porto Romano that you get from
the northern cape of the island, behind the Marchese ruins.
Just as charming are the colors at the reef that connects
Punta del Marchese with Punta di Libeccio, where yellow, ochre
and ivory gradations hide the marine fossils that were captured
during passed eras. The reef's untouched nature hides a hinterland
on the contrary intensely modified by human activities: of
the ancient and wild high-tree woods, mostly made up of ilex
and oak-trees, hardly nothing is left and the cereal steppes
defined by dry walls tell about agriculture activities and
farming, intensified by the presence of the penal settlement.
The charm of Pianosa is given off by the plumage and the chirruping
of birds that you could even say form the only population
on the island since the total number of human-beings only
reach about twenty. The sea-gull and the Pilgrim hawk nest
here, as well as the hoopoes, bee-eaters and buzzards, shearwaters
and cormorants, but the luckiest bird-watchers could even
sight a Queen hawk, a roller or an eagle. Naturalists paradise
hides even more surprising treasures under the uncontaminated
waves: caves and canyons, Roman amphora and red corals, while
groupers, dentex, bass and giant mullets are some of the species
that can be found in the waters of this ecosystem with extraordinary
archeological and ecological value that the historical and
political vicissitudes, more or less on purpose, have preserved.
The calcareous bottom at Pianosa makes the color of the water
even stronger and would make any hotel-owner in the Caribbean
envious and to understand it you only need to put on a mask
and put the head under the water at Cala Giovanna, the only
area on the island where it is allowed to swim. At Pianosa
it is actually forbidden to anchor, go fishing, dive or sail
as it would harm this natural oasis that functions as a maternity
ward for several species risking extinction or anyhow are
threatened by the iniquitous consequences of mans' progress.
To symbolize Pianosa's role and naturalists will to protect
and to increase the value of this jewel in the Tuscan archipelago,
in August 2000, three species of turtles were released on
the island's beaches with the hope that they would find new
places along the coasts where to lay their eggs. To visit
Pianosa you have to contact the Ente Parco dell'Arcipelago
Toscano or the city-council at Campo nell'elba where you can
make reservations.
Photos from APT Tuscan Archipelago and Mediaweb srl.
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