The two key subjects of the island of Elba are iron ore and Napoleon Bonaparte.
Elba has 70% of the region’s known minerals in its belly and for centuries its iron mines have contributed to writing the history of the Mediterranean. From the Etruscans to the Romans to present day Italians.
But nothing has made this island more famous than the forced exile of Napoleon Bonaparte. Everything here is reminiscent of Napoleon's stay. From the palace to his favorite water source. From the chair where he sat upon his arrival, to the flag personally created by the French Emperor to give official status to the territory of the island of which he became temporary governor. Even the legendary gossip regarding Napoleon's undisputed charm over the women of Elba, and his rumored 17 illegitimate children.
Portoferraio, which is the capital of the island, is calm and sleepy when we arrived. We enjoyed every corner of it as we followed the guide while touring. And after three hours of immersion in the past (with the inevitable shopping in the present) we toasted three times to Bonaparte in the best way, by sipping local wines, a white, a rosé, and a red, before setting off to sea again toward other shores.
