Forte Longone

PORTO AZZURRO

The Forte Longone is one of the Festival’s unique locations.

Please note: concerts at the Forte Longone must be booked in advance, and the tickets must be retrieved at the Festival’s Ticket Office no later than the day before the concert.

Forte Longone, or Forte di Longone (also known as Fort of San Giacomo and in the 17th century as Fort Benaventano as the supervisor of the construction of the fort was the fifth Earl of Benavente in the province of Zamora in Spain), is a coastal fortification located in the municipality of Porto Azzurro, along the south-eastern coast of the island of Elba facing the Piombino canal. Its location is on the promontory overlooking the harbor bay from the east.

The imposing fortified complex was built by the Spaniards at the beginning of the seventeenth century, to strengthen the coastal defensive system of the State of the Presidi, whose territory also included part of the eastern and southern coast of the island. The entire fortified structure was built in just two years, between 1603 and 1605. The original sighting and defense functions were carried out until the mid-nineteenth century, when gradually the military structure was abandoned to be converted into a prison. which it still carries out.

Source: Wikipedia