The island of Giglio. The disaster with the cruise ship Costa Concordia took place near the Punta Gabbianara (slightly above the center of the eastern coast).
Giglio Island, Isola del Giglio in Italian, is one of the seven islands that form the Tuscan Archipelago. It is situated in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, Italy. The island's name means Goat Island in Latin and ancient Greek. It has some wide sandy beaches. The population is mainly engaged in fishing, fruit growing and tourism.
Distance from mainland: 9.5 miles
Highest point: 1627 ft
Area: 9.2 sq miles
Population: 1500
The island has been an Etruscan stronghold and it was an important base under the Romans. In 1544 the infamous pirate Barbarossa ('red beard') occupied the island and deports the whole population (700 persons) as slaves to Tunesia. Later the famous De Medici family lived on the island for a while.
Giglio Castello, one of the three municipalities on the island. Nice city walls!
next episode: Hoop Dress Sisters
What a picturesque town! Nice connection to the castle walls theme.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the captain wanted to see them up-close. Oh sorry, I shouldn't make jokes.The situation must have been horrible for the passengers.
ReplyDeleteIn Your description You have revealed a particular almost unknown by 99% of Italians: the meaning is Goat Island.
ReplyDeleteit derives from AIGILION, but it evolved into GIGLIO. This word in Italian means "Lily" (the flower), thus almost everybody thinks it would mean "Island of the Lily".
Besides, "goat" in Italian is "capra". There are some islands more with such sound: "Caprera" close to Sardinia, "Capraia" in front of Pisa and "Capri" close to Naples. They are all mountain-islands; calling them "goats" would mean the willing of conquest the top. Because the goats are very smart also in mountains.
In Morocco I saw goats climbing in trees, a very strange sight.
ReplyDelete