Gorgona () is the northernmost

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the Tuscan Archipelago, a group of islands off the west coast of Italy. Between

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

and

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn (prono ...

, this diminutive island has been valued most for its

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted fo ...

, especially marine birds, and its isolation. The latter quality resulted in the foundation of Gorgona Abbey in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. After its closure the monastery grounds and buildings were appropriated in 1869, at the foundation of an agricultural penal colony, which is currently in use.

Geography

Gorgona is located about 19 nautical miles (about ) straight out from

. It is a ferry ride of about 1.5 hours; however, access to the island is forbidden without permission from the Italian Ministry of Justice. It grants a standing concession exclusively to one group for supervised tours. Photographic equipment is not allowed. Private boats may approach the island no closer than except in emergencies.

Capraia Capraia is an Italian island, the northwesternmost of the seven islands of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest after Elba and Giglio. It is also a ''comune'' ( Capraia Isola) belonging to the Province of Livorno. The island has a ...

is away;

, . The only landing place is "Cala dello Scalo", an inlet on the northeast side surrounded by cliffs, the site of the only beach. A fishing village over the beach is now inhabited by workers of the Penal Colony and, above all in the summer, by families of heirs of the old settlers. On the cliff overlooking the bay is a historic site, the Torre Nuova, "new tower", built as a watchtower by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in the 17th century. From the beach an unpaved road leads up to the settlement at the head of a pass between the two prominent heights: Punta Gorgona at to the south and Punta Zirri at to the north. On the cliffs at the west side of the island on the other side of the pass is the Torre Vecchia, "old tower", built as a watchtower by the Republic of Pisa in the 12th century. Occupation of the island has been primarily on the steep slopes and terraces of the east coast. A number of monastery and other buildings were constructed there. The prison, which has been structured as a working farm, has taken over or takes responsibility for maintaining this entire region. Prisoners work in agriculture or raise animals or learn whatever building trades are useful to the enterprise. Their living space is rather big with good rooms as cells, some spaces for group activities and a pleasant soccer 5 field. Most of the prisoners work outdoors, in the village area too. So interaction with residents and outsiders is controlled.

History

Ancient history

''Urgon'' or ''Gorgòn'' ( in Ancient Greek), believed to be Gorgona, receives brief mention in Pliny, who only states that it is near

Pianosa Pianosa () is an island in the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. It is about in area, with a coastal perimeter of . Geography In Roman times the island was named ''Planasia'' (plain) because of its flatness – its highest poin ...

and

Pomponius Mela Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45. His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...

had mentioned the name earlier (43 BC) but only as an item in a list of the islands in the vicinity.

Monastic history

Rutilius Claudius Namatianus Rutilius Claudius Namatianus (fl. 5th century) was a Roman Imperial poet, best known for his Latin poem, ''De reditu suo'', in elegiac metre, describing a coastal voyage from Rome to Gaul in 416. The poem was in two books; the exordium of the firs ...

in describing his voyage of 417 AD in the region says that "Gorgon" rises up in the middle of the sea between the

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the c ...

n and Cyrniacan (

n) shores. He had already stated that there were '' monachi'', "monks", on

and now relates the story of an aristocratic youth who had given up wealth, status and the opportunity for marriage to retire to Gorgon in "superstitious exile", implying that monasteries of sorts were already on the two islands. Tradition holds that monks from Gorgona rescued the

relics In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

Saint Julia of Corsica Saint Julia of Corsica ( it, Santa Giulia da Corsica; french: Sainte Julie; co, Santa Ghjulia; la, Sancta Iulia), also known as Saint Julia of Carthage, and more rarely Saint Julia of Nonza, was a virgin martyr who is venerated as a Christian ...

before they were carried to the mainland in the 8th century. Finally, in 1425, the Saint Julia relics were carried to Calci Chartreuse, near to Pisa. The monastery was abandoned after its destruction by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia ...

s. In the 11th century the

Republic of Pisa The Republic of Pisa ( it, Repubblica di Pisa) was an independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa, which existed from the 11th to the 15th century. It rose to become an economic powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated ...

cleared the

Tyrrhenian Sea The Tyrrhenian Sea (; it, Mar Tirreno , french: Mer Tyrrhénienne , sc, Mare Tirrenu, co, Mari Tirrenu, scn, Mari Tirrenu, nap, Mare Tirreno) is part of the Mediterranean Sea off the western coast of Italy. It is named for the Tyrrhenian p ...

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

s and proceeded against their strongholds in Africa. In 1051, just prior to the Pisan occupation of Corsica, the monastery was reconstituted, still

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

, and was declared under papal protection. Subsequently, gifts of land were made by aristocrats in Tuscany (where Pisa is located) and northern Corsica. The monastery began to keep land records from Corsica, the first known from there. Letter 130 of

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena ( Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church ...

, a Dominican nun, to Ippolito degli Ubaldini of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

encourages him to enter and contribute to the monastery of Gorgona. The letter in stating that the monastery needed to be refurbished to conform to the "rule of the

Carthusian Order The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has it ...

" implies that it was recently converted to that order. It must have been written after her vision of 1375 and visit to the island then. Two inscriptions at Pisa Charterhouse at Calci attribute the change of order to the influence of Catherine on

Pope Gregory XI Pope Gregory XI ( la, Gregorius, born Pierre Roger de Beaufort; c. 1329 – 27 March 1378) was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1370 to his death in March 1378. He was the seventh and last Avignon pope and the most recent French pop ...

in trying to obtain economic assistance for the Carthusians. The pope made a grant of money and gave the Carthusians Gorgona. The change cast reproach on the Benedictines for their alleged non-monastic way of life. They were asked to leave the island and were banned from it. Carthusians from Pisa Charterhouse retenanted the monastery under Don Bartholomew Serafini. He promptly invited Catherine to visit. She lodged outside the monastery but was invited to address the monks. She spoke on resisting the temptations of

Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

. The mantle she was asked to leave as a token of the visit placed later in the hands of a young monk tempted to suicide by the death or illness of his mother is said to have removed all temptation, a token, in the church, of her sainthood. Subsequently, the Mediterranean became politically unstable. Fearing an attack by

corsairs the monks left the island for the charterhouse at Calci in 1425, taking all the records and works of art with them, and never returned. The records were duly published at

. The island however remained in the ownership of Pisa Charterhouse until the 18th century.

Modern history

Early in 1771 Peter Leopold I,

Grand Duke of Tuscany The rulers of Tuscany varied over time, sometimes being margraves, the rulers of handfuls of border counties and sometimes the heads of the most important family of the region. Margraves of Tuscany, 812–1197 House of Boniface :These were origi ...

, purchased Gorgona from the Carthusians of Pisa with the intent of making it part of a plan for economic revival. In March of that year he passed a law opening the island to settlement by fishermen with the proviso that they would catch and cure

anchovies An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 species are placed in 1 ...

and sell them in

. The fishing village dates to this time. This opportunity to live in Gorgona was raised from the families named "Citti" and "Dodoli", coming from Garfagnana region in province of Lucca. These two families worked hard to make Gorgona a good place to live in, being able to stay there until the present day. With the unification of Italy in 1861, including the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany, ownership of Gorgona passed to the new

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and ...

. Gorgona became a new and experimental agricultural penal colony in 1869.

Literature

Island of Gorgona, with

too, is part of one of the best-known verses of Dante Alighieri's poem La Divina Commedia:

Ecology

The ecology of Gorgona is under the protection of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, dating from 1996, with headquarters at

Portoferraio Portoferraio () is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour of the island of Elba. It is the island's largest city. Because of its terrain, many of its buildings are situated on the slopes of a tiny ...

Elba Elba ( it, isola d'Elba, ; la, Ilva) is a Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano Nationa ...

. Most of the island is in its native state, 90% of it being forested with maquis, to high. Among its plant species are ''

Arbutus unedo ''Arbutus unedo'' is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruits, which bear some resemblance to the strawberry — hence the common name ...

'', ''Rhamnus'' (Buckthorn), ''

Pistacia lentiscus ''Pistacia lentiscus'' (also lentisk or mastic) is a dioecious evergreen shrub or small tree of the genus '' Pistacia'' native to the Mediterranean Basin. It grows up to tall and is cultivated for its aromatic resin, mainly on the Greek is ...

'', ''

Juniperus phoenicea ''Juniperus phoenicea'', the Phoenicean juniper or Arâr, is a juniper found throughout the Mediterranean region. Description ''Juniperus phoenicea'' is a large shrub or small tree reaching tall, with a trunk up to in diameter and a rounded ...

'', ''

Myrtus communis ''Myrtus communis'', the common myrtle or true myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It is an evergreen shrub native to southern Europe, North Africa, Western Asia, Macaronesia, and the Indian Subcontinent, and a ...

'', '' Erica arborea'', '' Erica scoparia'', ''

Rosmarinus officinalis ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosma ...

'', '' Phillyrea angustifolia'', and '' Phillyrea latifolia''. The flowers in more open country include ''

Lavandula stoechas ''Lavandula stoechas'', the Spanish lavender or topped lavender (U.S.) or French lavender (U.K.), is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, occurring natively in several Mediterranean countries, including France, Spain, Portugal, ...

'', '' Helichrysum italicum'', ''

Cistus incanus ''Cistus'' (from the Greek ''kistos'') is a genus of flowering plants in the rockrose family Cistaceae, containing about 20 species (Ellul ''et al.'' 2002). They are perennial shrubs found on dry or rocky soils throughout the Mediterranean region ...

'', '' Cistus salvifolius'', and '' Cistus monspeliensis''. '' Calycotome spinosa'' and '' Spartium junceum'' appear on the slopes. '' Linaria capraria'' is endemic to the archipelago and to Gorgona too. Evergreens predominate. There are groves of

holm-oak ''Quercus ilex'', the evergreen oak, holly oak or holm oak is a large evergreen oak native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the ''Ilex'' section of the genus, with acorns that mature in a single summer. Description An evergreen t ...

, the remnant of a prehistoric forest, and pine woods of ''

Pinus halepensis ''Pinus halepensis'', commonly known as the Aleppo pine, also known as the Jerusalem pine, is a pine native to the Mediterranean region. Description ''Pinus halepensis'' is a small to medium-sized tree, tall, with a trunk diameter up to , exce ...

'', '' Pinus pinea'', and ''

Pinus pinaster ''Pinus pinaster'', the maritime pine or cluster pine, is a pine native to the south Atlantic Europe region and parts of the western Mediterranean. It is a hard, fast growing pine bearing small seeds with large wings. Description ''Pinus pinast ...

''. Gorgona is one of only five islands in the world on which the Corsican finch is found.

Economy

In the nineteenth century the island was famous for its

. Reservation by the Italian government reduced all economy to that of the prison until last year. In 2012 the Department of Justice approved and gave finances to a plan called "Progetto Granducato" (Granducato Project), to reach the goal of giving prisoners professional training and real job opportunities, inviting private investors to start enterprises in Gorgona. The first company getting a business agreement with the prison's management, was the world-famous wine producer "Marchesi de' Frescobaldi". So nowadays the oldest and more prestigious wine brand of Tuscany, is giving prisoners of Gorgona the chance to get an exceptional know-how grown in the centuries, to make their own wines Vermentino and Ansonica, extra virgin olive oil and any other farm goods.

References

External links

*. *. *. *. *. {{Authority control Livorno Islands of Tuscany Arcipelago Toscano National Park Prison islands