Tiny Island, Tiny Dictator

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LBA is a pinprick of an island off the coast of Tuscany, and very beautiful it is. The jour- ney by ferry from Piombino on the mainland to the island’s little capital of Portoferraio takes an hour. In the sea- son, huge numbers of tourists, including bus travelers, backpackers, campers, and bicyclists, flood over the beaches or clog the roads and trails twisting up to pic- turesque villages in the hills, where the yellow gorse spreads far and wide.