A collective guide celebrating a unique heritage
The first comprehensive museum guide dedicated to the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago is finally a reality.
Musei dell’Arcipelago Toscano. Un mare di cultura, storia e natura, published by Persephone Edizioni with the support of the Tuscany Region (Museum Systems Grant 2024), represents the first unified tool for understanding and enhancing the rich and widespread cultural heritage of the Tuscan islands.
Curated by Valentina Anselmi (Scientific Director of S.M.AR.T.) and Giacomo Alberto Vieri (Head of Communication), the volume is the concrete outcome of a collective, cohesive and sustained effort involving the entire Scientific and Technical Committee of the Museum System and more than forty contributors — archaeologists, historians, naturalists, architects, artists, researchers, journalists and museum professionals.
It is a polyphonic work that captures the depth and diversity of an archipelago where nature and culture merge into a single narrative.
Across 255 richly illustrated pages, the guide presents museums, archaeological sites, park visitor centres, and places of historical and natural interest throughout the seven islands — Elba, Giglio, Capraia, Montecristo, Pianosa, Giannutri, and Gorgona.
It invites readers to embark on a journey that intertwines history, art and science: from Etruscan and Roman sites to ancient mines, from Medicean fortresses to environmental parks, and through the lives and stories that have shaped the collective memory of the islands.
The editorial project — developed and produced by Persephone Edizioni (editorial direction by Angela Galli, graphic design and layout by Maurizio Lirussi) — stands as a model of cultural and territorial cooperation: a shared endeavour among public institutions, museums, and local communities, giving voice to an island museum network that is today fully established and regionally recognized.
Contributors include: Lorella Alderighi, Giovanna Amorosi, Valentina Anselmi, Giuseppe Massimo Battaglini, Emma Borasi, Maurizio Burlando, Adriana Caldarone, Franco Cambi, Aurora Ciardelli, Elisabetta Coltelli, Giovanni De Luca, Andrea Dini, Tommaso Empler, Silvestre Ferruzzi, Marco Firmati, Leonardo Forbicioni, Fausto Armando Foresi, Luca Maria Foresi, Leonardo Galerotti, Marino Garfagnoli, Luciano Giannoni, Enrico Maria Giuffrè, Giacomo Luperini, Angelo Mazzei, Giacomo Montauti, Laura Pagliantini, Alessandro Pastorelli, Federico Pezzotta, Angela Provenzali, Giovanni Quilghini, Paola Rendini, Alessandra Ribaldone, Erica Romano, Sergio Rossi, Jacopo Tabolli, Edoardo Vanni, Giacomo Alberto Vieri.
The guide is, as described, “a narrative compass leading readers through the centuries-old and enthralling journey of islands that have survived every challenge — places that have always regarded the sea as an opportunity and a resource, never a distance.”
📘 Musei dell’Arcipelago Toscano. Un mare di cultura, storia e natura
Edited by Valentina Anselmi and Giacomo Alberto Vieri
Persephone Edizioni, 2025 – ISBN 9791281147386
