Isola del Giglio: a walk to “pozzetti”

There are beaches and trails, two of the main reasons for which thousands of people come here every year: relax and sport. But there’s also another reason that makes Giglio Island so special: only here you can feel a particular atmosphere, made by slow rhythms and old customs. Like the “pozzetti”.

They are in Giglio Porto. The so-called “pozzetti” (literally, “small wells”) are a part of the old wash houses of this place. Where, until some years ago, mothers and grandmothers of Giglio Island met and did laudry. In an age when there was no water in the houses and they could clean clothes using the water of the close San Giorgio source.

But “pozzetti” are not just wash houses: they were a meeting point, a place to socialize with other people.  Most of the tourists don’t know this wonderful place, hidden by a wall and a little gate between San Lorenzo and Castello streets.

You, instead, can visist them, so you can feel like you’ve been back in time, when in Giglio Island clothes were cleaned at “pozzetti”.

Image source: Flickr.com/photos/67421554@N00