Hill of the Windmill of San Martino, as what remains of the windmill is called, not far from Monte San Martino 370 m above sea level
Looking at what remains of the mill, it can be seen that the walls of the building are supported and not connected to the tower built with a circular base.
It is believed that the construction of the San Martino windmill took place on a previous watchtower, which was part of the optical connection with other towers, which allowed to communicate, in a very short time, with every side of the island of Elba .
When visiting what remains of the Windmill of San Martino, the domed vault created in a spiral to support the upper floor of the tower is particularly surprising.
Cippo at the Hill of the Windmill
Not far from the windmill of San Martino, on the ridge road that leads to Mountain Barbatoia (359m asl), is the Boundary stone Hill of the Windmill, with the cross of Cosimo I de ‘Medici, to indicate that from there, it passed and passes 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.
This is a further hypothesis of a control tower (Tower of Barbatoja) prior to the San Martino windmill.
Windmill of San Martino easily accessible panoramic and relaxing place
The windmill of San Martino is located just two kilometers from Colle Reciso, the way to reach it 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, ideal for those looking for a panoramic and relaxing place.
How to reach the Windmill of San Martino
To reach the Windmill, 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.