A campsite by the clear blue sea

The former mining village of Capoliveri is one of the most picturesque locations on the Island of Elba. Set in the hills at the centre of a green peninsula, it looks out over the sea and offers splendid views from Elba to the island of Montecristo, from Pianosa to the Tuscany coast and on a clear day even Corsica. It boasts a splendid piazza, a mediaeval old town centre, a charming bell tower and one of the most beautiful bays on the island, home to the magnificent Lacona beach. More than a kilometre long, the beach is renowned for its dunes of fine golden sand backed by a large Mediterranean pine forest and sheltered from the wind by the promontories of Capo di Stella and Capo Fonza. A few years ago, an extensive area behind the beach was bought up by the Tuscan Archipelago National Park with the aim of preserving the sand dunes and their resident flora, including species of rare beauty such as the yellow poppy and sea daffodil.
A popular tourist area, it boasts no fewer than 11 camping sites, one of which is Camping Lacona Pineta, the oldest on the island dating from 1957. Located 50 metres from the beach at the foot of the Capo Stella promontory, Camping Lacona has a terraced structure and extends over an approximately 40,000 square metre area of pine forest. It offers a range of accommodation, from tent pitches to bungalows, and has capacity for 850 people. The camping site’s main attraction is its splendid swimming pool, a kind of water park with areas of various depths, entrance steps, bridge and whirlpool.
« It’s a major feature, guests love it, » the owner Diego Farina told us. « We built it about five or six years ago and initially used wood as the paving for the pool surround. But the wood was deteriorating and splintering, so last year we decided to replace it with wood-look porcelain planks, which are great to look at as well as being practical, durable and functional. » The chosen tiles (15×90 cm planks) are from Coem’s Habita collection in the colour Castagno (chestnut), a warm tone that coordinates perfectly with the blue of the water.
The colour blue also dominates in the recently built toilet block. « I trusted in my experience and decided to personally supervise the design and choice of materials, » continued the owner. « As there were previously no toilets close to the pool, when we decided to renovate the paving we took the opportunity to build them. We realised they were an essential feature and our customers really appreciated the extra effort we made to improve the amenities. » Here too wood-effect porcelain was chosen for the floor, while cement-inspired porcelain – large-format tiles from the Blend collection in the colour ‘grigio’ (grey) from Fioranese – was used for the walls. The contrast with the shiny blue windows is visually striking and creates a pleasant sense of continuity with the exterior.