pretty from start to finish
After almost two decades of European wars caused by the attempt to Napoleon Bonaparte to extend his dominion and create an empire modeled taking as an example to follow France , the emperor was forced to abdicate the title from him.
As established in the Treaty of Fontainebleau , winners and losers agreed to establish ** Napoleon's residence on the island of Elba **, at that time in the hands of the French and where he would have at his disposal two mansions and he could support a thousand men and run the government and economy of the island. A five star exile.
Napoleon settled in Elba , accompanied by his sister and his mother Letizia, who was captivated by the island that he described as “always beautiful, charming, elegant and terrifyingly impressive”.
One of Napoleon's residences on the island of Elba
The months that Napoleon spent on the island were hectic and from the first day he was involved in its administration, carrying out large infrastructure projects, building roads and draining marshes, favoring agriculture and the mining industry as well as reforming the legal system and education. And meanwhile he was planning the escape from him, which finally happened during a masquerade party at his residence.
In all, he had spent 300 days on Elbe after which he would return to France to try to recover the empire from him.
Many of us, after a stay on Elba, will settle for regaining enough energy to face the computer screen again. Being an emperor requires too much effort and success is not guaranteed.
After the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was sent, this time without voice or vote, to a much more remote island, Saint Helena , where he would die, after six years of captivity, remembering in his last words his arrival at Elba: “It's been exactly six years since I came to Elba. He was raining. If only I could listen to that rain now I'd get better."
Elba leaves a special memory to everyone who visits her and these are some of the reasons.
Portoferraio
1. Because you probably don't know anyone who has been
Despite being the third largest island Italy (on the surface it is half of Ibiza), getting to Elba is not easy since the cheapest way is **flying to Pisa** and from there move to Piombino to catch a ferry to the island.
The difficulty in getting there, together with the fact that the island is a protected natural park and is little urbanized, may be the reasons for the little tourism , mostly exclusively Italian. most of hotels are family and rustic lodgings that merge with the vegetation. A paradise.
two. 'Cause we'll learn a thing or two about history
No one seemed to realize the gold mine that the stay of Napoleon on Elba until In 2015, the two hundred years of his arrival on the island were celebrated. Since then Napoleon is omnipresent.
The two houses of the emperor on the island are open to the public: the Villa dei Mulini in Portoferraio and that of San Martino . Both have been carefully restored and have period furniture that testifies that there are exiles to which one would be delighted.
Villa San Martino
3. Because there is history beyond Napoleon
Alexander Dumas visited in the middle of the 18th century the small Monte Cristo Island what is found south of elbe and that served as inspiration for his well-known Count of Monte Cristo.
The tradition of using the islands of the Tuscan archipelago as prisons seems to come from afar and is something that is surprisingly still in force, being the idyllic islands of Gorgona and Pianosa prisons where The prisoners spend most of their time outdoors learning to make wine and serving tourists, that interested can listen to a black novel in the first person.
Four. Because it's hard to resist the views from Monte Capanne
Enough of history. If we are one of those who prefer to get lost in nature, **Elba offers multiple trails to do on foot or by bicycle ** and that quickly lead us to its high hills, which are worth noting the highest peak, Mount Capanne, with 1,019 meters of altitude and impressive views from where we can glimpse the rest of the islands of the Tuscan archipelago.
The vegetation is abundant and varied: chestnut trees, vineyards and olive trees They will accompany us to the top hiding the rocks and often the signs.
Climb to the top of Mount Capanne
5. Because there are beaches for all tastes
If instead of breaking a sweat we prefer to enjoy crystal clear water, Elba offers 147 kilometers of coastline and more than 190 beaches where to choose. Although we must bear in mind that many of them are difficult to access and, again, we will have to get our binoculars ready and descend very steep slopes.
Another option is to move around the island by kayak or by boat. It is said that Napoleon often went to the Colle d'Orano beach to sit and contemplate corsica native, visible across the sea.
Sansone beach, Portoferraio