Capraia: The Tuscan Archipelago Island That Nobody Reaches

Capraia is a volcanic island in the Tuscan Archipelago, halfway between Elba and Corsica. About 200 people live in the only inhabited centre — the port below, the village above — and the rest of the island is almost entirely uninhabited: Mediterranean scrub, goat tracks, coves reachable only by sea.

You arrive by ferry from Livorno, a crossing of about three hours that traverses the Piombino Channel. On arrival you are greeted by a narrow little harbour tucked between red volcanic rocks and a Genoese tower guarding the entrance. The village is above, reachable on foot in fifteen minutes along a paved lane.

Capraia has no sandy beaches — only volcanic rock coves where you dive in from the edge. Lo Stagnone, a small freshwater lake in the crater of an ancient volcano, is one of the most unusual natural environments in the Mediterranean: herons and migratory birds frequent it, and the silence is total.

The trails cross the island from north to south, passing through landscapes that shift constantly: low scrub battered by the wind on the western coast, holm oak forest in the interior, coastal grassland on the eastern flank. The Forte San Giorgio, at the island's highest point, offers a 360-degree panorama taking in Corsica, Elba, Gorgona and the Tuscan coast.

You sleep in the few guest houses at the port or in the village, eat in the two trattorias that open for lunch and dinner. There is not much else to do — and that is precisely the point. Capraia is an island where doing gives way to being: you walk, you swim, you read, you watch the sea.

The best time is May–June and September–October. In summer the island comes a little more alive but never becomes crowded — the ferry has a limited capacity, and that is the best anti-crowd filter imaginable.

Capraia is the antidote to Elba: no beach clubs, no nightclubs, no carousel of ferries. Just an island of rock and wind, where the Mediterranean is still wild.

Practical guides for Pienza

• Where to stay in Pienza
• What to see in Pienza in 2 days
• Where to eat in Pienza
• How to get to Pienza