ELBA ISLAND
hile sitting on one of the terraces of Santa Lucia, one can see Elba Island. Only 10 km. from the mainland, Elba is the largest island in the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest of the Italian islands. Known by the Ligurians as ILVA and by the Greeks as AETHALIA, Elba Remained a Roman colony for centuries, then belonged to the Florentine Medici family who named the city of Portoferraio Cosmopoli, by the will of Cosimo I.
The Spaniards colonized Porto Longone, today’s Porto Azzurro where they built the fortress of St. Giacomo. The most fascinating example of Hispanic culture in Elba can be found in the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monserrato.
But the most famous person to live in Elba has been Napoleon. While in exile there, the French Emperor initiated numerous works that proved to be invaluable for the economy and culture of the island. Villa dei Mulini and Villa San Martino, Napoleon’s homes, are on the must visit list of international tourists.
From the top of Monte Capanne (1018 meters high and reachable by cable car) one can see all around the island.
Elba is very famous for its minerals, over 150 different minerals are catalogued in the island. In Rio dell’Elba at the mineralogy museum one can admire extraordinary examples of Azurite, Malachite, Cuprite, Hematite, Magnetite, Pyrite Tourmaline, and Quartz to name just a few.