The way of the old railway

The path retraces the old railway track that connected the Vallone open-air construction site to the embarkation point near the Innamorata beach, right in front of the Gemini Islands. The steam railway, born in the early 1900s, represented a progress for the transport of iron ore. From the mine to the pier, the train traveled 6 km every day, loaded with magnetite, hematite and limonite to be loaded on the merchant ships waiting in the bay. The newly built blast furnace of Portoferraio required large quantities of ore to produce cast iron and steel. Iron was the island's greatest wealth and, between plants and excavations, almost all Elban men worked for this thriving industry. The path takes us back along the railway, following the thread of this long history, through rapid historical, economic and social changes to discover the roots of the inhabitants of Capoliveri.