We walked a stretch of the Via dei Lecci, one of the eight stages of the itinerary, using it as a starting point to discover a path that aims to tell the story of the island beyond its best-known beaches.
Born from the collaboration between the Acqua dell’Elba Foundation and the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, the Via dell’Essenza project aims to enhance the naturalistic and landscape heritage of the island through a hiking itinerary of approximately 67 kilometers divided into eight stages. In recent years the route has been progressively equipped with signs, panels and QR codes that allow hikers to learn more about the environmental characteristics of the area.
More than a single trek to be tackled over several days, it presents itself as a network of stages that can be followed individually or combined with each other. Each stretch takes its name from a typical species of the Mediterranean scrub, the dominant element of the Elba landscape.
The eight stages of the Way of Essence
1. Via dei Lentischi
Marciana Marina – Sant’Andrea
It is the inaugural stretch of the route. It follows the ancient path 150 along the western coast, crossing old agricultural terraces and holm oak woods. The sea is almost always visible and the mastic is one of the most present species along the path.
2. Via dell’Erica
Sant’Andrea – Colle d’Orano
It develops between Sant’Andrea, La Zanca and Patresi, alternating mule tracks, wooded stretches and glimpses of the sea. Here you can find some monumental specimens of Erica arborea, hence the name of the stage.
3. Via della Lavender
Colle d’Orano – Pomonte
It is one of the most tiring stages. The path climbs the western slopes of Monte Capanne reaching almost 600 meters above sea level before descending towards Chiessi and Pomonte. The interest is above all landscape and geological.
4. Via dei Cisti
Pomonte – Seccheto
It crosses the south-western coast of the island passing near the Fetovaia beach. The route offers wide views of the sea and passes through areas rich in rockrose, broom and myrtle.
5. Via dei Ginepri
Seccheto – Marina di Campo
It develops between coastal paths and ancient granite routes. In some places it runs over cliffs and terraced slopes that dominate the sea until arriving at Marina di Campo.
6. Via dei Rosmarini
Marina di Campo – Lacona
It is the longest stretch of the entire itinerary. It passes through particularly wild areas such as Fonza and Monte Fonza, with wide views over the gulfs of Elba and, on clear days, as far as Corsica.
7. Via dei Lecci
Lacona – Procchio
From Lacona you enter the Via dei Lecci, a 10.2 kilometer stage that can be covered in approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes. It is the stretch that we followed during our visit and which crosses some segments of the Great Crossing of Elba, developing among holm oak woods, Mediterranean scrub and panoramic views of the Gulf of Procchio. A route that offers a different image of Elba, more linked to the hinterland and its network of historic paths.
8. Via del Mirto
Procchio – Marciana Marina
Closes the ring by returning to the starting point. The route crosses the Lavacchio Valley, old terraces and paths immersed in the Mediterranean scrub before returning to the Marciana Marina seafront.
A project that enhances the Elban coast
@Tommaso Proietti/GreenMe
The Via dell’Essenza was not created to create new routes, but to recover and make more accessible historic paths already present on the island. The mule tracks that connected the small rural settlements, the now abandoned agricultural terraces and the ancient routes traveled by farmers, charcoal burners and shepherds thus become part of a single itinerary.
Along the way the landscape changes continuously: from the granite cliffs of the western coast to the sandy beaches of the southern side, from the holm oak woods to the areas dominated by the Mediterranean scrub. A route that offers a different interpretation of Elba, far from the exclusively seaside image with which the island is often identified.
Overall, walking the entire ring requires around 27 hours of walking spread over eight stages, for a total of over 67 kilometres.
