Tuscany · Livorno
Capoliveri
A medieval hill town on the eastern lobe of Elba, with 35 kilometers of coast below.
Picked by Peter Benei
Letter to come
Capoliveri is on our list.
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Visiting
- Best time
- May–Sep
- By car
- 2 h 20 min from Pisa
- Population
- 3,961
- J12°
- F13°
- M14°
- A16°
- M20°
- J25°
- J29°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D13°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 15°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
The name comes from Caput Liberum, the Roman head of the free territory. The medieval town that grew up on that ground sits on a terrace and is built into the slope as a maze of narrow alleys called chiassi, opening onto small piazzas rather than any wider square. Below it the southern lobe of Elba unfolds into thirty-five kilometers of coastline, more than any other comune on the island, and the beaches, Innamorata, Morcone, Pareti and Zuccale, are reached by a network of dirt roads off the ridge rather than by a single road along the shore.
The fishermen still go out at four in the morning from the cove at Naregno. What holds the town together is that relation between height and shore: a hill settlement governing a coastline it does not directly touch, with the old mining ground on the mountain behind it folded into the same protected park as the water below.
How to get there
From Pisa (PSA), about 2 h 26 min by car.
Bologna (BLQ) is about 3 h 59 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 2 h 20 min, Siena 2 h 56 min or Florence 3 h 11 min.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Centro storico
Medieval village built into the slope of the mountain, with narrow stepped alleys called chiassi giving onto small piazzas.
Miniere del Calamita
The galleries and open pits sit on the eastern flank of Monte Calamita, now a heritage trail with guided tours through the abandoned works.
Spiaggia dell'Innamorata
Pebble beach on the southern coast, named for a legendary sixteenth-century pair of lovers killed in a pirate raid, commemorated each July.
Spiaggia di Morcone
Sandy crescent on the southeast coast, sheltered, the largest of the Capoliveri beaches.
Punta Calamita
Southern headland of Elba, the panoramic finish of Monte Calamita with views to Pianosa and Montecristo.
Living here
Could you live here?
Capoliveri is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 3,961, with Portoferraio (11,779 people) 14 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Grosseto, a city of 81,264, is 1 h 59 min by car. Further than our 30 to 60 minutes, a long way for the hospital visit or the monthly shopping.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 3,961, down 1% since 2015
- Nearest city Grosseto, 1 h 59 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Portoferraio, 8 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €2,000 to €2,750 per m² to buy, €8.10 to €11.60 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- Very remote
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 90% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 4, very low hazard
- Pisa airport (PSA), 2 h 26 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Florence, 3 h 11 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
16% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Germany and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 191 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly Germany, Switzerland and Austria. There are 249 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 63% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. Livorno province ranks 49th of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Portoferraio, 8 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Siena, 100 km away. The nearest IB school is International School of Siena, 100 km as the crow flies.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 0.99% a year in property tax, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds 0.8% to your income tax, with nothing due on income under €8,174. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Tuscany spends about €2,410 a month, €540 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €770 a year for water, on the Tuscany average. In Livorno, the provincial capital, in September 2026, an espresso cost €1.25, a meal in a pizzeria €10.04 and a man's haircut €18.31.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 9% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
IRON MINES
Three-thousand-year mining history on Monte Calamita, magnetite and hematite worked from Etruscan times to 1980.
35 KM OF COAST
More coastline than any other comune on Elba, with sand and pebble beaches on all three sides of the southern lobe.
TUSCAN ARCHIPELAGO PARK
Inside the Parco Nazionale dell'Arcipelago Toscano, the largest marine protected area in the European Mediterranean.
Common questions
- What is Capoliveri known for?
- Capoliveri is a medieval hill town at 167 meters on the eastern lobe of Elba, with 35 kilometers of coast below.
- Where is Capoliveri?
- Capoliveri is a comune in the province of Livorno, in Tuscany.
- What is the nearest airport to Capoliveri?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pisa (PSA), about 2 h 26 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Capoliveri?
- About 2 h 20 min by car.
- When is the best time to visit Capoliveri?
- Best in May–Sep. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Capoliveri?
- Praia a Mare, Bibbona and Castagneto Carducci.
- How many people live in Capoliveri?
- 3,961 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Capoliveri a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Capoliveri is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Portoferraio, 14 min). The nearest city, Grosseto, is 1 h 59 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Portoferraio, 8 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 90% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 167 m
- Population: 3,961
- Surface area: 39.56 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Capoliveri appears in
Similar
Towns like Capoliveri
What all six share with Capoliveri: on the Tyrrhenian coast · between 3,000 and 10,000 people · near sea level
Praia a Mare
Province: Cosenza
Bibbona
Province: Livorno
1 h 44 min apart by road
- Written about. No. 37.
Castagneto Carducci
Province: Livorno
1 h 31 min apart by road
- Written about. No. 5.
Forte dei Marmi
Province: Lucca
2 h 33 min apart by road
- Written about. No. 48.
Castiglione della Pescaia
Province: Grosseto
2 h 3 min apart by road
Scilla
Province: Reggio Calabria
The letter
Capoliveri is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter: the photo, what is worth eating, and when to turn up. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Capoliveri comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Turin.
The nearest town we have written up is Piombino, 23 km away. Read its letter →
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.