Capoliveri - Elba Island

Capoliveri (LI)

Elba Island - Tuscany (Italy)

Capoliveri is a town in the province of Livorno, this is one of the eight municipalities of the island.
The area was already populated Etruscan-Roman era, have been found coins and statues are still preserved in the Archaeological Museum in Naples.
During the Roman Empire were documented names Caput Liberum, Capitis Ilva, Caput Caput Liveri Liseri or the meaning is not certain, perhaps the name is in relationship with God Liber or Bacchus as Pliny described the viticulture of the region, this explanation, according to some historians, it would be possible.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, ie during the Roman-barbarian kingdoms, the Elbe became a refuge for the population of central Italy. Eleventh to the fourteenth century was part of the Municipality of Pisa from 1399 was ruled by the Duke of Piombino. In 1548 it was sold to Cosimo I de 'Medici (1519-1574), first Grand Duke of Tuscany. Philip III of Spain captured Porto Longone in 1596 and in 1709 became part of the Kingdom of Sicily.
After the Italian campaign of Napoleon I in 1799 the population of Capoliveri developed a stubborn resistance. When citizens killed a group of French soldiers fleeing Longone, the counter of a garrison from Portoferraio destroyed almost the entire country. This historical background explains why, when Napoleon I in 1814, arrived in exile as the King of Elba, he was greeted with skepticism in Capoliveri, while all other's municipalities saluted him as a liberator. The people refused to pay taxes; the resistance, led by two local priests, however, ended when these organizations were arrested.
During the Risorgimento the doctor Silvio Vincenzo (born in Capoliveri May 9, 1805) was known as a patriot. He was arrested in Rome for his views on the nation state and renounced his career, he was fired for failure. " After the Italian unification in 1860 returned to Capoliveri as military doctor. After his death (1873) documents were destroyed families, and for this reason the character was forgotten for many years. Today, a private association dedicated to research on his life and asked the town administration to dedicate a street in the country.
Today one of the most important economic resources for Capoliveri is tourism.