Boundary stone Hill of the Windmill
Not far from the windmill of San Martino, on the crest road leading to Mountain Barbatoia (359m asl), is the boundary stone with the carved cross of Cosimo I de ‘Medici, to indicate that from there, it passed and crosses the border of Cosmopoli (Portoferraio).
From 1574 the boundary stones indicated the line that separated the Medici Cosmopoli from the rest of the island which was part of the principality of Piombino.
Duties, gabelles and taxes if they crossed the Portoferraio limit
From that moment on they had to pay the taxes whenever they crossed the limit of Portoferraio with products that exceeded the family’s needs in quantity. Furthermore, they could no longer take cattle to pasture in the Portoferraio area, or collect wood or go hunting.
Windmill of San Martino or Tower of Barbatoja
Just over 100m from the boundary stone are the remains of the Windmill of San Martino. The wide view position and other signs suggest that the Mill is a successor to a previous control tower, the Tower of Barbatoja.
The boundary stone and the windmill of San Martino are located just two kilometers from Colle Reciso, the way to reach them is almost flat and surrounded by Mediterranean scrub. If desired, we can arrive by car a few meters from the Mill, the road is dirt and very bumpy, to be traveled very slowly, only the last 200 meters must be covered on foot. From the old windmill you can enjoy a beautiful view of Portoferraio, Capoliveri , Golfo Stella and Lacona .
How to reach the Cippo of the Windmill in San Martino
The boundary stone of the Windmill, is located just over a hundred meters from the remains of the Windmill of San Martino . To reach it we have to travel 2 km of dirt road that from Colle Reciso leads to Monte San Martino (370m above sea level). San Martino is the mountain that divides Portoferraio from Lacona. Colle Reciso is the passing hill on the road that connects the two towns.