Some are plainly visible from the Tuscan shore, others are dim shapes. Ferries serve them from Livorno, Portoferraio (Elba) and Porto San Stefano – up to ten trips a day from Porto San Stefano to Giglio in summer. They are islets of pale limestone and tangled scrub, cacti and olives, with rudimentary harbours and a handful of inhabited dwellings. They have a common history: the ancient Romans and the princes of the Church retired to them; monks established hermitages; the Italian government used them as penal settlements.

At Gorgona and Capraia fishermen gather for the annual assault on the anchovy. Pianosa is more developed, attracting skin divers. (It may once again become a penal colony). Prehistoric bones have been recovered from its seashore caverns. Giglio, closest to the coast, is most visited. There is an idyllic, family-owned hotel here, as well as a campsite. The small port is exceptionally pretty.

If time allows only one trip, choose Giannutri. In Roman times it was almost covered by a splendid villa. Slender columns rise in unexpected spots and the excavations have not ruined the forlorn beauty of the site. Sixty-four km from the mainland lies the rough dark rock of Montecristo. Once a royal game preserve and a menagerie, it has a ruined monastery whose 19thC custodian gave Dumas the idea for his best-known novel. Visiting requires a permit (long waiting list) and other special arrangements: click here for more information.