Montecristo Island

Listen here to the our podcast

"The Atlas of Islands, Stories and Legends from the Tuscan Archipelago" edited by. "The Company of Cosi"

The island of Monte Cristo is the most mysterious and inaccessible island in the entire'Tuscan Archipelago. Snatched from housing speculation in the 1971 By ministerial decree on March 4, which declared it "State Integral Nature Reserve", graduated in 1988 Biogenetic Nature Reserve to the Council of Europe and today, in addition to being included in the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, the island, is Biosphere Reserve "Islands of Tuscany" and part of the International Cetacean Sanctuary "Pelagos". The latter originated from an agreement between Italy, France and the Principality of Monaco, with the aim of protecting marine mammals from the threat of human activities. The Sanctuary defines a maritime area space that transcends the boundaries of territorial waters and includes high seas territories included by them. The island, part of the Municipality of Portoferrario- Elba Island (LI), is managed by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Biodiversity and Parks, department of Follonica (GR), and is located in 63 km from the mainland, thus resulting, the farthest, among the islands of the archipelago, from the peninsular coasts. Its remote location and impervious terrain, characterized by sheer granite cliffs overlooking the sea, made it over the centuries a chosen place for those who decided to lead a monastic life. Especially since the 5th century onwards, when Mamilianus (later St.), bishop of Palermo, chose it as his hermitage. To this century, date the cave of San Mamiliano, the Monastery, built by his followers following his death, and the two legends about him:

The first tells the story of the struggle between San Mamiliano and a huge winged dragon, the island's sole inhabitant and guardian, upon whose death a spring of the purest water and a veritable treasure stored in the saint's cave would spring at the site of the battle.

The second tells of the Saint's death and the arrangements he made with the Gigliese for the management and burial of his body. The Gigliese, in fact, claim that Mamiliano wanted to be buried at theGiglio Island and at the appropriate time, from Montecristo, he would light a fire to signal his imminent passing. At the smoke signal, the Gigliese would set sail for the island to retrieve the body and bestow a proper burial in their limited lands. But once the appropriate time came, even from the'Elba they spotted smoke coming from the Mount, and a delegation of Elbans set out for Montecristo. They all found themselves there, elbans e lilies, they began to contend for the body, just physically pulling it, some by one arm and some by another, from one side to the other. So pull you pull back the body was torn and the Elbans were left with the body while the Giglians were left with only an arm, still jealously guarded in the Church of Giglio Castello. Historically, the body was, instead, buried at Sovana In the dedicated church.

In Sovana Church Museum is guarded the famous "Treasure of Monte Cristo" to which Alexandre Dumas refers to in his famous novel. Secretly hidden inside the Church until 2012, when it was found. It consists of 498 gold solids minted under Leo I e , Antemiotra 457 and 474, relevant in number of pieces and number of emperors represented. Ancient documents and popular legends indicated it was in the Monastery of Monte Cristo, hidden inside the cave.

The island had a monastic vocation until the 1534, the year it was inhabited by a company of privateers who in 1553, led by Dragut, they finally conquered the monastery. From then on it remained uninhabited until the 1814 when Napoleon sent a military garrison there. During the various attempts to colonize and start agricultural activities, the modern buildings of Montecristo were built, namely the future Nature Museum and the so-called Fisherman's Cottage at the beach of Cala Maestra, today infopoint of Tuscan Archipelago National Park. In 1889 the island became a hunting reserve of the Florentine marquis Carlo Ginori Lisci, first, and the King Victor Emmanuel III of Savoy then. In these years the vast mansion, built by Baron George Watson Taylor at 1852 above Cala Maestra, became Royal Villa complete with terraced gardens in which to grow exotic tree species.

While the special conditions of the island have in fact prevented urban settlements, they have also favored and preserved animal and plant species once widespread throughout the Mediterranean Sea. Here one can find gigantic specimens of Erica Arborea e thousand-year-old holm oaks and again, at the Grotta del Santo, a rare species of fern: theOsmunda Regalis. Vegetation life is severely affected by the goat grazing, which allows the reproduction of only certain plant species being the others part of their diet. Although the presence of goats in theTuscan Archipelago is attested by the Latin and Greek toponymy of some of the islands as: Capraia e Aygilion (Giglio Island), Montecristo preserves Italy's only population of wild goats. A resting place for thousands of migratory birds, is also the home of the viper and the sardinian halibut, a species of toad found only on a couple of Tuscan islands, including Giglio Island and in Sardinia. In the sea surrounding the island, in which diving is strictly prohibited, there are posidonia meadowsanemones marinegorgonianscorals. The presence of the sunfish A massive bony fish.

Except for the flora and fauna, the island is completely uninhabited. Over the years only park rangers accompanied by their wives have taken turns.

Points of Interest in Montecristo

  • Monastery of San Mamiliano
  • Cave of San Mamiliano
  • Fortress of Monte Cristo on the highest peak of the island (645 m)
  • Royal Villa
  • Museum of Natural History
  • Botanical garden
  • Hydraulic mill (ruins) at the Cave of San Mamiliano
  • Church of Santa Maria (ruins) at the cove of the same name, relocated on August 6, 2012 by architect Silvestre Ferruzzi.

Recommended Equipment

  • Solid ankle-high hiking shoes
  • Water at least 1.5 lt
  • Wind Jacket
  • Sack Lunch
  • Container for transporting garbage
  • Sunscreen
  • Hat

Visit Montecristo

Access to Montecristo is rigidly regulated both on land and in the sea. Access is allowed to a maximum of 2,000 visitors per year, accompanied by one or more official guides of Tuscan Archipelago National Park. Tours, organized by the Park, can be booked only at the Park itself by contacting its offices by phone or email. The calendar for the 2021 includes 25 dates spread over the periods from the March 1 to April 15 and from the May 15 to October 31, excluding the intermediate period that coincides with the migrations of avian fauna. Of these 23 provide for the departure from the port of Piombino (Livorno) with a stopover at Porto Azzurro (island of Elba)and 2 by Porto Santo Stefano (Grosseto) with a stopover at Giglio Porto. Each day has about 75 places for a total of 1,875 places, 100 of which reserved at residents of the Tuscan Archipelago.

Given the Island's uniqueness and value. visits are aimed at exploring environmental features and historical sites, excluding any beach-type activities. Trekking tours led by Park guides, take place along three routes:

-Cala Maestra - Belvedere - Royal Villa :
Length: m 2,031
Height difference: 230 mt.
Difficulty: medium
Time: 2 hours

Cala Maestra - Monastery - Cave of the Saint - Royal Villa:
Length: m 3,610
Height difference: 460 mt.
Difficulty: high
Time: 3 hours and 30 min.

-Cala Maestra - Royal Villa - Eco Museum :
Length: m 2,000
Height difference: 50 mt.
Difficulty: easy
Time: 2 hours

And in smaller groups of 12 people each with its own guide. For those who would like to stop at Cala Maestra is prohibited Place umbrellas or beach towels on the beach.

Ankle-high hiking shoes are required for the hike, due to the danger of vipers, equip yourself with enough water to cover the span of the day, packed lunch. A hat for warmer periods, a windbreaker in spring and fall periods. It will be at the guide's discretion to decide whether you have the appropriate equipment for the hike. It is strictly forbidden to deposit any kind of waste on the whole island, participants must equip themselves with special containers for transporting the waste.

Costs and Departure Times.

€ 120,00 per person for tourist enjoyment from Elba - Piombino and from Porto S. Stefano - Giglio;
€ 60,00 per person per fruition intended To adult residents in the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. Reserved for residents of the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. Places available at this rate No. 100.

Piombino - Porto Azzurro (Elba Island) - Montecristo round trip

Departure from Piombino Marittima
                                                                8:30 a.m.
Arrival at Porto Azzurro
                                                               09:20 am
Departure from Porto Azzurro
                                                               9:30 a.m.
Arrival at Montecristo
                                                              11:15 a.m.

Departure from Montecristo
                                                            4:15 p.m.
Arrival at Porto Azzurro
                                                            6 p.m.
Departure from Porto Azzurro
                                                            6:10 pm
Arrival at Piombino Marittima
                                                           7 p.m.

Porto S. Stefano - Giglio Island - Montecristo

Departure from Porto S. Stefano
                                                          8:30 a.m.
Arrival Giglio Island
                                                          09:20 am
Departure Giglio Island
                                                          9:30 a.m.
Arrival at Montecristo
                                                          11:30 a.m.

Departure from Montecristo
                                                         4:15 p.m.
Arrival Giglio Island
                                                        6 p.m.
Departure Giglio Island
                                                       6:10 pm
Arrival at Porto S. Stefano
                                                      7 p.m.

Reservations, cancellation policies, and detailed visit schedule can be found on the dedicated page of InfoPark.

Access by private watercraft

In addition to the guided tours, organized by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park in accordance with the Carabinieri Biodiversity Department, it is possible to access the island of Montecristo by watercraft or pleasure craft less than 16 meters.
In this case, the request for access must be made directly to the

Carabinieri Biodiversity Department of Follonica (GR)

Tel n. 0566 40611 - fax n. 0566 44616
e-mail office: 043591.001@carabinieri.it
P.E.C.: fgr43591@pec.carabinieri.it.

The access authorization allows the descent ashore and the visit of only the appurtenances of Cala Maestra and the museum (please note that bathing is prohibited on the Island of Montecristo) conducted by personnel of the Carabinieri Forestali.

My Agile Privacy

This site uses technical and profiling cookies. 

You can accept, reject, or customize the cookies by clicking the desired buttons. 

By closing this notice, you will continue without accepting.