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Pianosa () is an island in the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. It is about in area, with a coastal perimeter of .
In the 4th century, a small Christian community lived in Pianosa and left traces of their presence in catacombs. These are on two levels and are the largest north of Rome; 700 catacombs were discovered, indicating a fair number of residents.
Pisa had custody of the island after a nearby naval battle victory in 874. In the Middle Ages the island's ownership was disputed by Pisa and Genoa because of its strategic position. In 1238, Genoa sent troops to the island with the pretence that the inhabitants engaged in piracy. The troops destroyed the village and the fortifications built by the Pisans and took the 150 inhabitants prisoner. Pianosa was returned shortly afterward to Pisa, but Genoa had the supremacy of the Tyrrhenian Sea after the Battle of Meloria. The island returned to Pisan control under an agreement that required the Pisans to leave it uncultivated and uninhabited, but the pact was not honoured. The Appiano family, who ruled Pisa, leased the island to the De Leis family and then to the Landi family in 1344. The Appianos sold Pisa to Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1399 and established the small Principality of Piombino, which included Suvereto, Scarlino, Vignale, Populonia and the islands of Elba, Montecristo and Pianosa. On August 15, 1552, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Spain consigned to Cosimo I de' Medici the Principality of Piombino in exchange of a loan of 200,000 Italian scudo.
Pianosa underwent numerous incursions by Pirate; the worst took place in 1553, when a French Turkish fleet commanded by Dragut wiped out the population. After that, the island changed ownership several times and was populated only seasonally by farmers coming from Elba to cultivate the land. On 27 August 1802, Napoleon established that Elba, Capraia, Gorgona, Pianosa, Palmaiola and Montecristo were part of the France and in 1805 assigned the regions of Piombino, Elba, and the part of Pianosa that was fortified to his sister Elisa Bonaparte. On 9 April 1809, the Archipelago returned to Tuscan ownership, when Tuscany was ruled by the French. On 10 May, British marines and sailors from and HMS Halcyon landed on Pianosa and Giannutri. The landing parties destroyed the forts and captured about 100 prisoners during four hours of fighting. British losses were one marine killed and one wounded. Naval Chronicle, Vol. 22, p.255. The landing party also sent the farmers back to Elba and left the island deserted. Napoleon went to Pianosa from Elba twice, rebuilt the tower, set up a garrison to defend the island, and built some houses to settle farmers. The Congress of Vienna assigned Elba and the Tuscan Archipelago to the Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Although 18th-century documents report that it was once densely wooded, humans and the animals they brought have destroyed the trees on the island, which is now largely grassland except some coastal areas.
In the post-war period, the colony returned to its original role as a prison island. A Carabinieri station was established, as was a detachment of Guardia di Finanza, and houses were built to accommodate the families of the soldiers. In the 1970s, on order of General Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, the former sanatorium, named Agrippa Branch, was transformed into a maximum security prison to confine Sicilian Mafia bosses and terrorists of the Red Brigades: Giovanni Senzani, Renato Curcio, Alberto Franceschini, and Bruno Seghetti. Under the article 41-bis prison regime, in May 1977 aircraft and helicopters transferred 600 convicts from all over Italy to Pianosa in only two days. A reinforced concrete wall, six metres high and long, was built in 1979 to separate the village from the penitentiary. The murder of judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino in 1992 led to the reopening of the Agrippa Branch under the 41-bis regime and during the night of July 20, fifty-five Mafia bosses incarcerated at Palermo Ucciardone prison, among them Michele Greco, were transferred by military transport aircraft to Pisa Airport and then to Pianosa by helicopter.
The island was a prison fortress until 17 July 1997, when Gaetano Murana, the last 41-bis prison regime detainee, was transferred to another prison. Prior to that time Pianosa had hosted Mafia bosses such as Pippo Calò, Nitto Santapaola and Giovanni Brusca, and had become well known for the brutality inflicted on the prisoners. The Romano Prodi government decided to close the penitentiary permanently on 28 June 1998. Pianosa was evacuated in a single day by the remaining detainees and residents, leaving a few guards on the island as caretakers.
The island permits visits by only 250 tourists per day, arriving by ferry from the Island of Elba. Fishing, diving, or anchoring are not allowed without a special authorization. During the summer season Pianosa can be reached once a week from Rio Marina and Piombino on the Toremar fleet, twice a week from San Vincenzo and daily from Marina di Campo on the service. It is possible to visit the island, but only with organized excursions or trekking by bicycle escorted by park guides.
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