Pianosa

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Pianosa
Aerial view of Pianosa
Aerial view of Pianosa
Waters Tyrrhenian Sea
Archipelago Tuscan Archipelago
Geographical location 42 ° 34 '58 "  N , 10 ° 4' 48"  E Coordinates: 42 ° 34 '58 "  N , 10 ° 4' 48"  E
Pianosa (Tuscany)
Pianosa
surface 10.25 km²
Highest elevation Belvedere
29  m slm
Residents 5 (2011)
<1 inh / km²
main place Pianosa
Map of the Tuscan Archipelago
Map of the Tuscan Archipelago

Pianosa is a small island in the Mediterranean Sea , about 14 km south of the island of Elba and 26 km from mainland Italy ( Livorno province ). It belongs to the Tuscan Archipelago and is part of the municipality of Campo nell'Elba .

geography

The surface is 1025 hectares, the highest point Belvedere has a height of 29  m slm - it is comparatively flat, with an average height of 10 meters. The coastline is 26 km. 250 meters east of Pianosa lies the small rock La Scola with a diameter of around 150 meters and a height of 32 meters. La Scarpa is even smaller , 70 by 80 meters and 260 meters from the northern tip of Punta del Marchese .

history

Fossil finds of bears, deer and horses show that the island was connected to the mainland in the Neozoic era .

The island was already used for exile in Roman times . The Latin name was Planasia . The most famous exile was Agrippa Postumus (12 BC to 14 AD; the youngest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Iulia , daughter of Augustus ). The Roman Empress Agrippina banished her brother to Pianosa, who, among other things, had a tunnel system built there for his slaves, whom he did not want to see, and who celebrated luxurious festivals. Excavations have secured some of his mosaics . After his death, many returned there voluntarily. From the 3rd to 4th centuries AD, there are around 700 Christian catacombs that can be visited. It is the largest facility north of Rome.

In the Middle Ages the island belonged to Pisa , then to Genoa . Emperor Napoleon once had wineries built for the extensive viticulture that was not introduced .

An agricultural penal colony , founded by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, existed on Pianosa for about 140 years . In 1968 it became a maximum security prison (Art. 41 bis), which was closed in August 1998. Since then the island can be visited again. The security wall, which catches the eye upon arrival and is called Muro dalla Chiesa after the person responsible at the time, also dates from this time . The wall stretches from Cala di San Giovanni south of the main town to the north to the foot of Monte Belvedere . The Villa romana di Agrippa is also located here . Two other existing prison facilities have a lower security level (one for outdoor prisoners ) and are currently only rarely occupied and mostly only in the summer months. The only place of the same name Pianosa on the east coast has 5 inhabitants (2011 census). Administratively, the island belongs to the municipality of Campo nell'Elba , the main area of ​​which is in the southwest of the island of Elba .

tourism

The island can only be visited as part of guided tours that are offered on Elba and on the mainland. You can reach Pianosa in about 35 minutes by boat from the port of Marina di Campo on Elba . On Tuesdays the Giovanni Bellini of the Toremar ferry company runs as a supply ship from Piombino (mainland) to Pianosa (journey time approx. 3 hours) and takes passengers for day trips. The entire island and the surrounding sea belong to the Parco nazionale dell'Arcipelago Toscano National Park . The sea area around the island is part of the Santuario dei Cetacei multinational sanctuary ( whale sanctuary ).

Since 2013 it has also been possible to dive at Pianosa. The pristine dive sites offer huge schools of barracuda and tame groupers like nowhere else in the vicinity. However, the dives there are limited and guided.

Attractions

  • West Coast

  • Pianosa in the foreground and the small rocky island of Scola in the background

  • The lighthouse

  • Forte Teglia

  • Mura del Porto

  • View of the Palazzo della Specola

Novel and film

  • Pianosa also serves as the setting for Joseph Heller's novel Catch-22 , although it is already pointed out in the foreword of the book that the island is far too small for all of the actions described.
  • Markus Kampp: Room with a sea view - The prison island Pianosa . Film for WDR, 2001, 45 min.

Web links

Commons : Isola di Pianosa  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Associazione Pianosa (Italian)
  2. ↑ La Frazione di Pianosa with the population figures from 2011, accessed on April 17, 2019
  3. ↑ Information about the dates can be given by the German diving school Spiro Sub Elba .