The mines of Capoliveri – MTB on Elba Island

The town of Capoliveri stands perched on a hill on the slopes of Monte Calamita, and is one of the most characteristic and active towns on the Island of Elba. Its past is mainly linked to the mining activity of the magnetite mineral (from which the name Monte Calamita derives), as evidenced by the abandoned mines that characterize the area in the extreme south-east of the island.

This itinerary starts right in Capoliveri and joins the most beautiful trails of the Capoliveri Bike Park, almost faithfully tracing the route of the Marathon World Cup which was held here in October 2021. The landscape you will cross has a post-industrial aspect, dominated by gigantic machinery rusty stones once used for mining which give the area a truly surreal feel.

Leave the town of Capoliveri and immediately set out to conquer the summit of Monte Calamita, from whose summit you can sometimes see the coast of Corsica. Then dive down to the Innamorata Beach, so called because of a legend that tells of a young woman who, in an attempt to save her beloved from pirates, jumped into the sea and disappeared in the waves.

Then continue to the Miniera del Vallone, the oldest construction site in Capoliveri, where the abandoned buildings of the mine are visible, including the former administrative building, inhabited until the 1960s by the director of the mines with his family. Eight kilometers later you will pass through another mine – the Calamita mine – the largest in Capoliveri as well as a real playground for those who love mountain biking.

Take the dirt road that climbs halfway up the southern slope of Poggio Polveraio until it crosses over and then descends to Punta di Buzzancone, on the east coast of the Capoliveri peninsula. Before the small Buzzancone beach, turn left onto the steep ramp that leads almost to the top of Poggio Fino. At the end of the climb, a long flowing path called Capre is followed by a wide dirt road that ends in the village of Capoliveri.