On the invisible tracks of a silent people: the Etruscans
The Etruscans lived on the island for many centuries from the 7th century B.C., onwards, but, due to their custom of building cities out of clay, which “dissolved” over the years, little trace remains of them today .
However, the necropolises which can still be found testify to the existence of their lost villages: settlements in Portoferraio, Monte Castello near Procchio, Volterraio and Castiglione di San Martino, near Portoferraio, were burned down by the Romans. There was a fortress on Monte di Santa Lucia, rebuilt by the Pisans, and a temple, possibly dedicated to Tinia, on Monte Serra, near Rio; a very valuable offering statue, now preserved in Naples, came from Le Trane.
It is still possible to see signs of iron mining: the mineral-archaeological sites, now difficult to identify because they have been worn away by time or subsequent activities, and an island deforested in order to obtain the wood needed for smelting, that vegetation has finally won back.