Leaving Porto S. Stefano, after about one hour of navigation you reach Giglio Island
Giglio Island, with around 1,000 inhabitants spread over 22 square kilometers, offers places of rare and wild beauty: golden beaches, secluded coves, crystal-clear waters and the vibrant colors of Mediterranean vegetation. Some beaches such as Arenella and Cannelle can be reached by car; others, like Caldane, are accessible on foot or by boat with local boatmen, who can also take you on a tour around the island. The imposing Medici tower, together with the Faraglione rock, overlooks the beach of Campese, famous for its breathtaking sunsets. This beach, the heart of the island’s tourist offer, is the largest and best equipped. Its western exposure allows visitors to enjoy the sun until late evening, when it sets behind the Island of Montecristo. The clear and crystal waters, rich in marine flora and fauna, make the seabeds of Giglio among the most beautiful in the Mediterranean. During a dive you can admire posidonia meadows, rocky ravines colored by sea anemones, and schools of sea bream, amberjack and croakers. Diving centers operate all year round and offer training courses for those who wish to become divers. Ancient traditions have never disappeared on Giglio Island: fishing is still practiced as in the past, baskets are handwoven, the famous “Ansonico” wine is harvested, and through its genuine cuisine the island pays tribute to a land deeply marked by nature. For hiking lovers, the “Giglio” offers magnificent trails through pine forests, holm oak woods and fragrant Mediterranean scrub. The island has been inhabited since the Iron Age. It was likely an Etruscan military base and later, under Roman rule, an important outpost in the Mediterranean Sea. Near Giglio Porto, slightly below sea level, lie the remains of the Roman villa of the Domizi Enobarbi, including fish-farming basins, perimeter walls and mosaics. The area is known as “I Castellari di Giglio Porto”. Over the centuries the island was ruled by various noble families of Central Italy and from 1264 by the Pisan government, before passing to the Medici. In the Middle Ages it was under the rule of the Aldobrandeschi family, later belonging to the municipality of Perugia. From 1264 to 1406 it was owned by Pisa and later passed to Florence. In 1544 the pirate Khyr al-Din, known as Barbarossa, plundered the island, killing those who resisted and deporting more than 700 inhabitants as slaves. After this tragic event, the Medici repopulated the island with people from the Siena region. Saracen attacks continued until 1799.