Isola del Giglio
| Isola del Giglio | |
|---|---|
| — Comune — | |
| Comune di Isola del Giglio | |
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 Isola del Giglio
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| Coordinates: 42°21′N 10°54′E / 42.35°N 10.9°ECoordinates: 42°21′N 10°54′E / 42.35°N 10.9°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Tuscany |
| Province | Grosseto (GR) |
| Frazioni | Isola di Giannutri, Giglio Castello, Giglio Porto, Giglio Campese |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Sergio Ortelli (since June 2009) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 23.80 km2 (9.2 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 405 m (1,329 ft) |
| Population (30 April 2009) | |
| • Total | 1,458 |
| • Density | 61.3/km2 (158.7/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Gigliesi |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) |
| Postal code | 58010, 58012, 58013 |
| Dialing code | 0564 |
| Patron saint | San Mamiliano |
| Saint day | September 15 |
| Website | Official website |
Isola del Giglio (Italian pronunciation: [ˈiːzola del ˈdʒiʎʎo]; English: Giglio Island) 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, lying within the Arcipelago Toscano National Park. Giglio means "lily" in Italian, and though the name would appear consistent with the insignia of Medici Florence, it derives from Aegilium, "Goat Island", a Latin transliteration of the Greek word for "little goat" (Aigýllion).
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[edit] Geography
The island is separated by a 16 km (9.9 mi) 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 (496 m (1,627 ft)). 90% 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 km (17 mi) long, made up of rocks, smooth cliffs and several bays: Arenella, Cannelle, Caldane and Campese, the biggest one with its small village of the same name.
The municipality is composed of the islands of Giglio and Giannutri. Three principal settlements are located on the main island:
- Giglio Porto (G. Harbour) is located on the eastern coastal side and hosts the port. It is divided into the quarters of Chiesa, Moletto and Saraceno.
- Giglio Castello (G. Castle) is located upon a hill between the two other localities and is characterized by the majestic walls of a fortress. It is divided into the quarters of Casamatta, Centro, Cisterna and Rocca.[1]
- Giglio Campese is located on the north-western coastal side and is a modern sea resort.
[edit] History
The modern island was formed probably 4.5 to 5 million years ago, and has been inhabited since the Stone Age. Later, it was probably an Etruscan military stronghold. Under the Roman dominion, Aegilium Insula[2] or Igillia Insula[3] was an important base in the Tyrrhenian Sea, cited briefly by Julius Caesar in his De Bello Civili,[4] by Pliny,[5] by Pomponius Mela,[6] and by the fifth-century AD poet Rutilius Claudius Namatianus, who celebrated Igilium's successful repulse of the Getae and safe harbor for Romans, in a time when Igilium's slopes were still wooded:[7]
Eminus Igilii silvosa cacumina miror
Quam fraudare nefas laudis honore suae.
Wondering, Igilium's wooded heights I view
Afar, and must not cheat them of the praise
Due to their fame.—Rutilius, De reditu suo, book i, verse 325
In 805, the island was donated by Charlemagne to the abbey of the Tre Fontane in Rome, and was later successively a possession of the Aldobrandeschi, Pannocchieschi, Caetani, and Orsini families, and of the municipality of Perugia. In 1241, the Sicilian fleet of Emperor Frederick II destroyed a Genoese fleet. 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 flag ship the Grand Saint Louis.
Alongside its history, the island was always renowned for its mineral ore: many columns and buildings in Rome were built with the Gigliese granite.
[edit] Main sights
The island houses the remains of a Roman villa of Domitius Ahenobarbus (1st-2nd century), in the area of Giglio Porto (Giglio port). No traces of the once existing Temple of Diana can be seen now. The church of San Pietro Apostolo in Giglio Castello (Giglio castle) has an ivory crucifix attributed to the sculptor Giambologna.
The island is also the site of an Etruscan shipwreck dating back to the early Iron age, c. 600 BC.[8] 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.
[edit] Transportation
Isola del Giglio is connected to Tuscany by ferries Toremar and Maregiglio ("sea lily"), departing from Porto Santo Stefano.
[edit] Costa Concordia grounding incident
On 13 January 2012, the cruise liner Costa Concordia ran aground just off the island shore. Most of the more than 4,200 passengers and crew were rescued and taken to the island, as well as to the mainland. At least 12 people died and 64 were injured, with 20 or more missing (as of 17 January 2012).[9] The people of the island rallied with speedy humanity to the cause of helping their fellow man, got hot drinks, blankets, and many threw open their houses to the unfortunate victims of this man-made disaster. It is hoped that no oil spills occur, and that the breaking up of the ship for salvage does not remove the island as a travel venue in the summer.
[edit] Gallery
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Giglio Porto
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Giglio Castello
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Giglio Campese
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A disused grass runway by Giannutri's shore
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A street in Giglio Castello
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Aerial view of the island
[edit] References
- ^ "Giglio Castello". Tourist Association Pro Loco Isola del Giglio and Giannutri "G. Bancalà". http://www.isoladelgiglio.it/index.php?/en/discover-our-islands/enviroment/Giglio-Castello.html. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites: "Aegilium Insula"
- ^ Christoph Cellarius, Notitia orbis antiqui: sive geographia plenior, 1701-06:606.
- ^ De Bello Civili, book I, ch. xxxiv.
- ^ Hist. Nat. III.12.
- ^ Mela, book ii, ch. vii.
- ^ Namatianus, Rutilius Claudius (1907). Charles H. Keene. ed. Rutilii Claudii Namatiani De Reditu Suo Libri Duo: The Home-Coming of Rutilius Claudius Namatianus from Rome to Gaul in the Year 416 A.D. Trans. George F. Savage-Armstrong. London: G. Bell. pp. 134-137. http://books.google.com/books?id=zJBfAAAAMAAJ&dq=Quam%20fraudare%20nefas%20laudis%20honore%20suae&pg=PA134.
- ^ Lienhard, John H. "An Etruscan Wreck". The Engines of Our Ingenuity. University of Houston. http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi268.htm. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
- ^ Concordia disaster: House arrest for Captain Schettino, BBC News
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Isola del Giglio |
- Isola del Giglio official website (Italian)
- Tourist and Visitor Information for Isola del Giglio www.giglioinfo.com
- Institute for Marine Biology located on Isola del Giglio
- Dive station and diving school located on Isola del Giglio
- Tourism in Isola del Giglio
