1.
Italian language
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By most measures, Italian, together with Sardinian, is the closest to Latin of the Romance languages. Italian is a language in Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City. Italian is spoken by minorities in places such as France, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Crimea and Tunisia and by large expatriate communities in the Americas. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardized Italian and other regional languages, Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world. Italian is a major European language, being one of the languages of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It is the third most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 65 million native speakers, including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million. Italian is the working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market. Italian has been reported as the fourth or fifth most frequently taught foreign language in the world, Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society. Its development was influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latins contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive, however, Italian as a language used in Italy and some surrounding regions has a longer history. What would come to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language, and thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the language of Italy. Italian was also one of the recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Italy has always had a dialect for each city, because the cities. Those dialects now have considerable variety, as Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages
2.
Elba
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Elba is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy,10 kilometres from the coastal town of Piombino, the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. Elba is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, and it is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres east of the French island of Corsica. The island is part of the province of Livorno and is divided into eight municipalities, with a population of about 30,000 inhabitants. The municipalities are Portoferraio, which is also the principal town, along with Campo nellElba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina. Elba is the largest remaining stretch of land from the ancient tract that connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The island itself is made up of slices of rocks which formed part of the ancient Tethyan seafloor. These rocks have been through at least two orogenies, the Alpine orogeny and the Apennine orogeny, the second of these two events was associated with subduction of the Tethyan oceanic crust underneath Italy and the obduction of parts of the ancient seafloor onto the continents. Later extension within the inner part of the Apennine mountains caused adiabatic melting and the intrusion of the Mount Capanne. These igneous bodies brought with them skarn fluids which dissolved and replaced some of the carbonate units, one of the iron-rich minerals, ilvaite, was first identified on the island and takes its name from the Latin word for Elba. More recently, high-angle faults formed within the pile, allowing for the migration of iron-rich fluids through the crust. The deposits left behind by these formed the islands rich seams of iron ore. The terrain is varied, and is thus divided into several areas based on geomorphology. The mountainous and most recent part of the island can be found to the west, the mountain 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 flat section with the width being reduced to just four kilometres. It is where the major centres can be found, Portoferraio, to the east is the oldest part of the island, formed over 3 million years ago. In the hilly area, dominated by Monte Calamita, are the deposits of iron that made Elba famous, rivers rarely exceed 3 kilometres in length, and it is common for the shorter ones to dry up during the summer. The climate of the island is predominantly Mediterranean, except for Mount Capanne, precipitation is concentrated in autumn and comprises a normal rainfall. The island lies in the shadow of the large and mountainous island of Corsica
3.
Ligurian Sea
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The Ligurian Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the Italian Riviera and the island of Corsica. The sea is named after the ancient Ligures people. The sea borders Italy as far as its border with France, in the east the sea borders the Tyrrhenian Sea, while in the west it borders the Mediterranean Sea proper. Genoa is the most prominent city in the area, the northwest coast is noted for its scenic beauty and favourable climate. The Gulf of Genoa is its northernmost part, the sea receives the Arno River from the east and many other rivers that originate in the Apennines. The ports of Genoa, La Spezia, and Livorno are on its rocky coast and it reaches a maximum depth of more than 9,300 feet northwest of Corsica. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Ligurian Sea as follows, a line joining Cape Corse the Northern point of Corsica to the frontier between France and Italy. A line joining Cape Corse with Tinetto Island and thence through Tino, on the North The Ligurian Coast of Italy. In order to provide protection for the numerous species in the Ligurian Sea the bordering countries established the sea as a SPAMI in 1999. The International Ligurian Sea Cetacean Sanctuary now covers 84,000 km² covering territorial waters as well as high sea
4.
Tyrrhenian Sea
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The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian people, identified since the 6th century BCE with the Etruscans of Italy, the sea is bounded by the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, the Italian peninsula to the east, and the island of Sicily. The maximum depth of the sea is 3,785 metres, the Tyrrhenian Sea is situated near where the African and Eurasian Plates meet, therefore mountain chains and active volcanoes such as Mount Marsili are found in its depths. The eight Aeolian Islands and Ustica are located in the part of the sea. On the Southwest, A line running from Cape Lilibeo to the South extreme of Cape Teulada in Sardinia, in the Strait of Bonifacio, A line joining the West extreme of Cape Testa in Sardinia with the Southwest extreme of Cape Feno in Corsica. On the North, A line joining Cape Corse in Corsica, with Tinetto Island and thence through Tino, there are four exits from the Tyrrhenian Sea, The Tyrrhenian Basin is divided into two basins, the Vavilov plain and the Marsili plain. They are separated by the ridge known as the Issel Bridge. Its name derives from the Greek name for the Etruscans, who were said to be emigrants from Lydia, the Etruscans settled along the coast of modern Tuscany and referred to the water as the Sea of the Etruscans. The main ports of the Tyrrhenian Sea in Italy are, Naples, Palermo, Civitavecchia, Salerno, Trapani, in France the most important port is Bastia. Note that even though the port of Rome is frequently used. Instead, the port of Rome refers to the facilities at Civitavecchia, some 68 km to the northwest of Rome. Giglio Porto is an island port in this area. It rose to prominence, when the Costa Concordia ran aground a few metres off the coast of Giglio, the ship was recently removed and towed to Genoa. In Greek mythology, it is believed that the cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea housed the four winds kept by Aeolus, the winds are the Mistral from the Rhône valley, the Libeccio from the southwest, and the Sirocco and Ostro from the south
5.
Pianosa
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The small island of Pianosa, about 10.25 km2 in area, has a coastal perimeter of 26 km and forms part of Italys Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea. In Roman times the island was named Planasia because of its flatness - its highest point stands at 29 m above sea level and it is a triangular-shaped land mass 14 km south west of Elba, and is a frazione of the municipality of Campo nellElba. The vegetation consists mainly of Mediterranean species as lentisco, fennel, juniperus, rosemary and pinus halepensis, the island is a stopping place for migrating birds in their seasonal passage from North to South. The sea around Pianosa is rich in fish because the coast was unapproachable for a long time, grouper, dory, dentex, moray, crawfish and many other species of fish inhabit the seas around the island. Fishing tools and ceramic of the Mesolithic were found as well as artefacts in quartz, the ancient Romans Planasia had buildings and was extensively cultivated. It became noted in history when the princeps Augustus banished his grandson, Postumus remained there until his murder by an assassin sent by Tiberius, around the death of Augustus in 14 AD. In the 4th century a small Christian community lived in Pianosa and these are on two levels and are the largest north of Rome,700 catacombs were discovered, indicating a fair number of residents. Pisa had the island in custody after the victory in a battle in those waters occurred in 874. In the Middle Ages the islands ownership was disputed by Pisa, in 1238 Genoa sent troops on the island supposing the inhabitants exercised the piracy, destroyed the village and the fortifications built by the Pisans and made prisoners the 150 inhabitants. Pianosa returned shortly after to Pisa, but Genoa had the supremacy of the Tyrrhenian Sea after the Battle of Meloria, the island returned to Pisan control under an agreement that required the Pisans leave it uncultivated and uninhabited, but the pact was not honoured. The Appiano family, who ruled Pisa, gave the island on rent to the family De Leis then to the Landi in 1344. The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain on August 15,1552 consigned to Cosimo I de Medici the Principality of Piombino in exchange of a loan of 200,000 scudi. On April 9,1809 the Archipelago returned to Tuscany, which was ruled by the French, on 10 May British marines and sailors from HMS Seahorse and HMS Halcyon landed on Pianosa, the landing parties destroyed the forts and captured about 100 prisoners during four hours of fighting. British losses were one killed and one wounded. The landing party also sent the farmers back to Elba and left the island a desert, napoleon went to Pianosa from Elba twice, rebuilt the tower, emplaced a garrison to defend the island, and built some houses to settle farmers. The Congress of Vienna assigned Elba and the Tuscan Archipelago to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. In 1864 a structure able to contain 350 prisoners was built, the captives cultivated cereals, produced oil and wine as Sangiovese and Procanico, there were poultry, pigs, and cattle farms. From 1884 until 1965 Pianosa, because of its dry climate, hosted convicts, coming from all over Italy, at the beginning of the 1900s, the population on the island was 21 civilians,80 prison guards,40 soldiers, and 800 prisoners
6.
Capraia
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The island has a population of about 400. Capraia is 62 kilometres from the city of Livorno by sea, the island is accessible by ferries that depart from the port of Livorno. Capraia is of volcanic origin, has an area of 19 square kilometres and it is about 8 kilometres long and about 4 kilometres wide. It has a coastline that is about 30 kilometres in circumference, the island is part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park and marine sanctuary. The islands small harbour, Porto di Capraia, is connected to the village by the one, the village, dominated by the Fortress of St George, preserves its original characteristics unaltered. Sites of tourist interest include the Church of the Assunta, the Church of St Nicola and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Church and Convent of St Antonio, the Fortress is not open to visitors. The island produces wine, and is a centre of the anchovy fishery, about 40 kilometres to the north is the island of Gorgona, which is also famous for its anchovies. In the summer the island is also a stopping point for yachts sailing between Livorno, Elba, and Corsica. The Greeks called the island Aegyllon or Aegyllion and its current name may have originated in the Etruscan carpa - stone - a word that comes from the archaic Greek Kalpe - sepulchral stone. The Romans called the island Capraria, its name possibly then morphing to reflect the presence of wild goats, in the 4th century AD it housed a cenobium, where the church of St. Stephen now stands. The early 5th century poet Rutilius recorded that the island was a mess, in 1055 it was raided by Saracen pirates, and later the Republic of Pisa owned it. It became part of the Republic of Genoa after the Battle of Meloria, in 1540 the Genoese built the Fortress of St. George on a pre-existing fortification that the African corsair Turgut Reis had demolished. The Genoese also built three coastal watch towers to protect against pirates and it is the only tower with a square shape, which makes it somewhat similar to the De Redin towers on Malta. Torre delle Barbici is in a dilapidated state. Since 2009 a path connects it to the port, in 1767 troops under Pasquale Paoli of the new independent Corsican Republic occupied Capraia. In 1796 the British, under Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, occupied the island for a short time, after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 annexed the Republic of Genoa to the Kingdom of Sardinia, Capraia became part of the province of Genoa. Then in 1925, it was assigned to Livorno, between 1873 and 1986 a penal colony occupied almost two-thirds of Capraia. In 1986 the government closed the penal colony and opened the island to visitors and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Capraia
7.
Montecristo
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Montecristo, formerly Oglasa, is an island in the Tyrrhenian Sea and part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Administratively it belongs to the municipality of Portoferraio in the province of Livorno, Italy. The island has an area of 10.39 km2, it is approximately 4.1 km wide at its widest point and is 3.4 km long, the coasts are steep, and extend for 16 km. The island is a nature reserve and forms part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. Much of the fame is derived from the fact that it provides the setting for part of the novel The Count of Monte Cristo. The history of the island begins with the Iron Age, the Etruscans exploited the forests of oak needed to fuel the bloomeries of the mainland where the iron ore of Elbas mines was melted. The Greeks gave Montecristo its oldest known name, Oglasa or Ocrasia, the Romans, however, knew it under the name Mons Jovis, and erected an altar to Iuppiter Optimus Maximus on the highest mountain, of which some traces remain. During the imperial age, the Romans opened some quarries to extract granite, perhaps used in the construction of villas on the islands of Giglio, Elba, and Giannutri. Around the middle of the fifth century AD, the caves of the island home to several hermits escaping from the Vandals of Genseric. They christened the island Mons Christi, from which the name is derived. At the beginning of the century, Pope Gregory the Great submitted them to the monastic rule of the Benedictines. In 1216, the joined the order of the Camaldolese. Thanks to the donations of several families, the monastery became powerful and rich. The island was once a possession of Pisa, but was acquired by the Principality of Piombino. In 1553, Ottoman pirate Dragut, heading for Elba, stormed the monastery, enslaved the monks, after that, the island was uninhabited. In the second half of the century, together with most of the Tuscan Archipelago, it became part of the Stato dei Presidi. The island was annexed to the French Empire under Napoleon, after his fall, the first attempts to colonise Monte Cristo, at the time owned by Charles Cambiagi, were made in 1840 by two German hermits, Augustin Eulhardt and Joseph Keim, who eventually abandoned the attempt. In 1843, other people arrived with the intention of cultivating the island, young Tyrolean Adolph Franz Obermüller, also during 1843, there were other attempts of colonisation by French agriculturalist George Guiboud, which ended with yet another failure
8.
Isola del Giglio
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Isola del Giglio is an Italian island and comune situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, and is part of the Province of Grosseto. The island is one of seven that form the Tuscan Archipelago, the island is separated by a 16-kilometre stretch of sea from the nearest point of the mainland, the promontory of Monte Argentario. Mainly mountainous, it consists almost entirely of granite, culminating in the Poggio della Pagana, ninety percent of its surface is covered by Mediterranean vegetation, alternating with large pine forests and numerous vineyards which allow the production of the local Ansonaco wine. The coast is 27 kilometres long, made up of rocks, smooth cliffs and several bays, Arenella, Cannelle, Caldane and Campese, the municipality is composed of the islands of Giglio and Giannutri. Three principal settlements are located on the island, Giglio Porto, located on the eastern coastal side. It is divided into the quarters of Chiesa, Moletto and Saraceno, Giglio Castello, located upon a hill between the two other localities and characterized by the majestic walls of a fortress. It is divided into the quarters of Casamatta, Centro, Cisterna, Giglio Campese, it is located on the north-western coastal side and is a modern sea resort. The modern island was formed probably 4.5 to 5 million years ago, later, it was probably an Etruscan military stronghold. Wondering, Igiliums wooded heights I view Afar, and must not cheat them of the praise Due to their fame. In 1241, the Sicilian and Pisan fleet of Emperor Frederick II destroyed a Genoese fleet in the Battle of Giglio, from 1264, Isola del Giglio was a Pisan dominion, from which it passed to the Medici family. It suffered several Saracen attacks, which ended only in 1799, on 14 June 1646, Grand Admiral Jean Armand de Maillé-Brézé was killed at the Battle of Orbetello, at sunset on his flagship the Grand Saint Louis. Alongside its history, the island was always renowned for its ore, many columns. The island houses the remains of a Roman villa of Domitius Ahenobarbus, no traces of the once existing Temple of Diana can be seen now. The church of San Pietro Apostolo in Giglio Castello has a crucifix attributed to the sculptor Giambologna. The island is also the site of an Etruscan shipwreck dating back to the early Iron age, the cargo of the ship included copper and lead ingots, iron spits, amphorae and a Corinthian helmet. Even a wooden writing tablet with stylus was preserved, the finds are almost completely lost now. Isola del Giglio is connected to Tuscany by ferries Toremar and Maregiglio, in 2012, the island received prolonged international media attention, following the 13 January 2012 running aground of the cruise liner Costa Concordia, just off the islands shore. Most of the more than 4,200 passengers and crew were rescued and taken to the island, at least 30 people died and 64 were injured, with 2 missing. The people of the rushed to help, providing hot drinks and blankets
9.
Gorgona (Italy)
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Gorgona is the northernmost island in the Tuscan Archipelago, a group of islands off the west coast of Italy. Between Corsica and Livorno, this island has been valued most for its wildlife, especially marine birds. The latter quality resulted in the foundation of Gorgona Abbey in the Middle Ages, after its closure the monastery grounds and buildings were appropriated in 1869, at the foundation of an agricultural penal colony, which is currently in use. Gorgona is located about 19 nautical miles out from Livorno. It is a ride of about 1.5 hours, however. It grants a standing concession exclusively to one group for supervised tours, private boats may approach the island no closer than 500 m except in emergencies. Capraia is 35 km away, Corsica,60 km, the only landing place is Cala dello Scalo, an inlet on the northeast side surrounded by cliffs, the site of the only beach. A fishing village over the beach is now inhabited by workers of the Penal Colony and, above all in the summer, by families of heirs of the old settlers. On the cliff overlooking the bay is a site, the Torre Nuova, new tower. From the beach an unpaved road leads up to the settlement at the head of a pass between the two prominent heights, Punta Gorgona at 254 metres to the south and Punta Zirri at 213 m to the north. On the cliffs at the west side of the island on the side of the pass is the Torre Vecchia, old tower. Occupation of the island has been primarily on the slopes and terraces of the east coast. A number of monastery and other buildings were constructed there, the prison, which has been structured as a working farm, has taken over or takes responsibility for maintaining this entire region. Prisoners work in agriculture or raise animals or learn whatever building trades are useful to the enterprise and their living space is rather big with good rooms as cells, some spaces for group activities and a pleasant soccer 5 field. Most of the work outdoors, in the village area too. So interaction with residents and outsiders is controlled, the ecology of Gorgona is under the protection of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, dating from 1996, with headquarters at Portoferraio, Elba. Most of the island is in its state, 90% of it being forested with maquis,2 m to 5 m high. The flowers in open country include Lavandula stoechas, Helichrysum italicum, Cistus incanus, Cistus salvifolius
10.
Giannutri
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The island has a coastal perimeter of 11 km, is stretched approximately 2.8 km from Punta del Capo Rosso to Punta Secca and 2 km from Punta San Francesco to Punta della Salvezza. The island landscape has three hills, Poggio del Cannone and Monte Mario in the part and Poggio Capel Rosso. The island’s flora is prevalently a high macchia mediterranea in the part which become garrigue in the southern. The mild climate has favoured the growth of such as euphorbia, palm trees. The marine flora is abundant in sponges, madreporaria, black coral, the island, as all that of the Tuscan Archipelago, is a place where the bird migration take a stop along their seasonal movement from North to South. The Audouins gull, Puffinus yelkouan, Black-eared wheatear, Marmoras warbler, Giannutri was mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historiae and by the Latin geographer Pomporio Mela in his Dechorographia. The island was inhabited by Romans of which are the vestiges of a magnificent Roman villa, remained locked for almost 15 years, in 1806 a small military garrison was sent on the island. On 10 May 1809, a party from HMS Seahorse and HMS Halcyon landed on the Pianosa. The landing party destroyed the forts and captured about 100 prisoners during four hours of fighting. British losses were one killed and one wounded. The Minister of Finances Quintino Sella, with a Royal decree, in 1908 the Comune sold the island to the family Ruffo della Scaletta which remained the owner until the death of the Prince Rufo. In the 1960s and 1970s the real estate investing transformed radically the island, in a few years an holiday resort at Cala Spalmatoio and many houses scattered through the island were built. The Società Porto Romano declared bankruptcy and the owners of the houses were obliged to form a society, called Libero Consorzio Giannutri. Villa Domizia, also known as Villa Domitia was built probably in the 1st or 2nd century by the Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus who was the owner of the island. The Villa is placed in the part of the island on an height, close to Punta Scaletta and Cala Maestra. The rooms employed as residence and the others were disposed on the highest level accessible by stairs, in the back of the residential quarter are the remains of a long building, with 8 rooms aligned, likely used by the monks as convent and since then called Conventaccio. The Villa is connected to Cala Maestra through a set of stairs, the Calidarium, formed by a rectangular room from whose walls passed the warm air, was placed halfway between the Villa and Cala Maestra and was richly adorned with marbles and mosaic floor. The Romans built a harbour and a wharf at Cala Maestra cutting the rock in order to have more space
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