Rio nell'Elba is a chief town at just one-kilometre distance from the other chief town, Rio Marina, which once belonged to the former.

This municipality rich in natural and architectural gems offers its guests a visit in the old washhouses, inside the Museum of the Elba Minerals, inside the St. Giuseppe's Cave and into the suggestive villages of Nisporto and Nisportino.
The history of Rio is indissolubly linked to two elements: the exploitation of its mineral resources, which the territory is very rich in, and the pirates' incursions.
These events originated the split of the old town of Rio into the two current chief towns. Rio nell' Elba is the most ancient fortified settlement and it garrisoned the territory during the incursions of the Saracenic corsairs and controlled the other garrisons created here by Pisa and which were later governed by the Principality of Piombino.
On the contrary, the modern era was characterized by the progressive intensification of the mineral exploitations and by the pacification of the Elba coastline. It was in this period that the settlement of Marina di Rio developed after two migratory flows, one in the XVIII century and the other at the half of the XIX century. With time, Marina di Rio was destined to become the economic centre of the mining activities. Consequently, the municipality of Rio split because the castle of Rio had lost its ancient importance as a rampart for defence against the piratical incursions. It was 1881 and up to then the history of Rio nell 'Elba and of Rio Marina had been as one.