Credit | Visit Tuscany via Flickr
The ferry pulls into Giglio Island and everyone rushes over the side to get a photo. This is my third visit, but I cannot resist the urge to join them, so I elbow my way to the front expecting to see eager Americans snapping shots of the picturesque port. Instead, the cameras are pointed at the shipwreck. The beauty of the approaching island is forgotten. My travel companions are far more interested in fighting over the best views of the rusted hull.
In 2012, the Costa Concordia cruise ship sank off the coast of Giglio Island, claiming 32 lives. The international press clamoured to the scene and the locals fretted over the impact the crash would have on tourism.
More than two years on, it seems the opposite is true. The most recent island figures show a drop in tourists since the ship was moved in July. The official regional statistics will not be released until later in the year, but residents have told local media that their first Ferragosto (the August 15 Italian national holiday) without the sunken ship proved a struggle.
Without the intriguing stories of submerged suitcases full of jewellery and the fluoro-clad workmen to gawk at, Giglio is just another Italian island—without the fame of Sardinia or Capri.
When the accident first happened, I remember driving out-of-town guests down the Argentario Coast so they could get a better look at the capsized ship. Family and friends back home suddenly knew all about the island and ferry tickets went up two euro to take advantage of the boom in ‘car crash tourists.’ Visitors from all over the world came to see the ship and stayed to swim, snorkel and eat clams.
Now that the summer is over and the Costa Concordia is gone, Giglio’s main attractions, its beach resorts, are closed. Yet the island still has plenty to offer tourists. One road connects its brightly coloured port with a small seaside village on the other side. Between them, thick stone walls conceal a handful of fifteenth-century houses tucked around a fortress. This is Giglio Castello, one of the ‘borghi più belli dell’Italia.’
All around it, vineyards produce the DOC Ansonica Costa dell’Argentario, a delicate white wine with hints of the sea. It is the season of the vendemmia (wine harvest) and the perfect time for a tour or wine-tasting session. Those who prefer their wine served with a plate of seafood pasta should stick around portside. In most Italian cities, generally speaking, the closer one is to the sea, the more expensive and disappointing the restaurants are, but Giglio’s are humble, honest and well priced; their speciality is freshly caught fish carpaccio with citrus fruits, served with lashings of locally produced olive oil.
From here, it is a short walk inland, where more than 700 of Giglio’s flora and fauna species are unique to the island and protected in a nature park. With mild winter weather and no traffic, Giglio can be explored by even the novice cyclist or hiker.
It is by no means a sunken cruise ship, yet breathtaking scenery, warm-hearted locals and a sense of genuineness that you will struggle to find in too many other places around the world.
