Portoferraio
Main landing place of the maritime connections from Piombino, Portoferraio is the gateway to the largest island of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park and its name already suggests the millenary mining activity practised since the Etruscan era, who used it as a real opencast mine.
The Romans’ Fabricia owes its present appearance to Cosimo de ‘Medici, who rebuilt the entire city in the XVI century, after it had been razed to the ground by the Saracens. Walking around the historic centre, alongside the seafaring vocation, it is easy to perceive Bonaparte influence: not far from Forte Falcone there is the Villa dei Mulini, one of the two residences used by the French emperor during his Elba exile.
11924
INHABITANTS
ITALY
COUNTRY
47,46
km²
In the city walk it is worth visiting the Romanesque church of Santo Stefano, the Archaeological Museum, the Forte Stella with its lighthouse and the Torre della Linguella. But in the territory of Portoferraio there are also the Villa Romana della Linguella and the Villa Romana delle Grotte, key points of the project Il Cammino della Rada, a hiking trail that will cross the Portoferraio Rada.
Elba means also – and perhaps above all – unspoilt nature and breathtaking landscapes, nautical and land activities, an ancient food and wine tradition whose traces can be found in the production of wine in amphoras, of goat cheese, of extra virgin olive oil and honey, without forgetting a recent tradition linked to the artisan production of chocolate.
Website: www.comune.portoferraio.li.it
