Pianosa Island

Pianosa Island

Pianosa Island, Italian Isola Pianosa, ancient (Latin) Planasia, island of the Toscany Archipelago, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, part of Tuscany regione (region), Italy. Situated 8 miles (13 km) southwest of the island of Elba, Pianosa has an area of 4 square miles (10 square km). It is, as its name (Italian piano, “flat”) indicates, low-lying, with its highest point reaching about 90 feet (27 metres) above sea level. In Roman history it figures as the place of banishment of Agrippa Postumus, grandson of the emperor Augustus. It suffered from the depredations of the Turks in the 16th century. In 1856 an agricultural penal colony was established there.