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"From
the Medici Family to Napoleon"
The traces of the Medici family is impressive in Portoferraio
on Elba. Here you can track a real Medici itinerary starting
at the Forte Falcone. You get to the fortress by walking up
the staircase from via Napoleone. By car you drive along the
road that goes to the Palazzina dei Mulini. |
From
the Prehistory to the Romans |
| From
the Middle Ages to the Medici Family |
| From
Napoleon till Today |
Museums
Underwater
archaeology |
The square-shaped fortress dominates the bay and protected it
for centuries against pirates in the same way as the Forte della
Stella did on the spur on the south-east part of the city.The
Forte della Stella got its name from the star-shaped plant of
the walls and was the military department of Napoleon's army.
The light-house, which is still working, was built in 1784 by
the Gran Duke Leopoldo of Austria. The bronze bust of Cosimo
I de' Medici by Cellini has been transferred to the Bargello
Museum in Florence. The Linguella Tower, also called the Passante
Tower from the assailand of Umberto I Savoia who were a prisoner
here in 1800, is a octangonal building from the second half
of the 16th century which closes the old port from the shipyard.
The Church del Santissimo Sacramento is from the same century
and was rebuilt after the bombings during the Second World War.
The church features a bronze mould of the funeral mask of Napoleon.
The Church del Padreterno, also called Santissima Trinità, in
Rio nell'Elba is worth a visit. The church goes back to the
18th century with three arcades on the façade and a lateral
tower that preserves an important Baroque altar. From the road
to Campo you find a path that in 40 minutes walking takes you
to the peak of Monte Giove. Probably, there used to be a temple
dedicated to the father of all Gods here, and in 1460 Giacomo
III Appiano built the Fortezza del Giogo against the incursions
of the Corsarians, but the Spaniards demolished the fortress
in 1553. Today only ruins remain but it is still worth a visit
for the view. The Appians have left traces in Rio Marina where
the octangonal tower embellishes the small port. Giacomo V Appiano
built it in 1534 for the sighting of the pirates. If you visit
Rio Marina, you can not forget the Chiesa di San Rocco, in the
centre of the village. It is a church from the 16th century,
a Latin cross with one nave which was built for the miners with
the money of Ludovisio Boncompagni, Master of Piombino. Going
to Porto Azzurro you have to stop at Forte San Giacomo, a star-shaped
plant, on the hill that dominates the village. Don Garcia of
Toledo built the fortress in the beginning of the 17th century
imitating the citadel of Antwerp. The fortress is still used
as a prison. At the other end of the village there is another
Spanish fortress, Forte del Focardo. This fortress was also
built in the 17th century to defend the port. The historical
and art heritage of Porto Azzurro ends at the sanctuary of the
Madonna del Monserrato which was built in 1606 by the Spanish
governor Giuseppe Pons y Léon on the slopes of Monte Castello.
You get to the Sanctuary by taking the road to Rio nell'Elba.
Drive for about 1 km and then turn to your left when you get
to a small path which is semi-hidden. The Forte del Focardo
dominates the promontory of Monte Calamita in Capoliveri. The
Viceroy of Naples built it for the Spanish King in 1678 and
belongs to the Navy today. You are not able to visit it. The
religious architecture features the Sanctuary della Madonna
delle Grazie and the Sanctuary della Madonna della neve in Capoliveri.
The first one was built in the 16th century and preserves a
caisson ceiling in wood and a painting of the Madonna del Silenzio,
attributed to a pupil of Michelangelo. The Sanctuary della Madonna
della neve was built by the inhabitants of Capoliveri in the
18th century and is now closed. It only opens the 5th of August
in order to celebrate a big feast. One of the most typical villages
of the whole island is Sant'Ilario in Campo, just outside the
centre of Marina di Campo. The narrow streets, the end of the
arcades and the flowering balconies surround the street that
leads to the square with the church which was built by the Appians
in 1400. The casa degli Appiani in Marciana Marina is worth
a visit, the palace of the family is still preserved well. And
also the Sanctuary della Madonna del Monte. It is less than
one hour by foot taking the path that branch off from the Pisan
Fortress. Along the Via Crucis path there are 14 small chapels.
The legend tells that some shepherds found an icon of the Madonna
here and built a hermitage and a small church. The building
goes back to 1600. Different paths starts here offering pleasant
walks along the slopes of Monte Giove. In Marciana, close to
the beautiful beach of Procchio, there is the Guardiola from
the 17th century where the old customs used to be located. From
Monte Castello you get to the walls of a prehistoric settlement,
while the period of Napoleon is remembered with the so called
"chair of Napoleon", a mass with a unique shape. People say
that Napoleon used to sit down to watch Corsica. Another trace
from this period are the fountains of Napoleon where you bottle
a water low in mineral content. On Giglio, do not miss a visit
to the marvellous round Medici tower which guards the port of
the Giglio Porto since 1596 and the walls of the castle. The
Medici family built the bastion using the Pisan building that
already existed. Seven of the ten original towers and the entrance
with three doors still remain. The truncated cone-shaped plant
identifies the Medici tower of Giglio Campese. It was built
between 1670 and 1705 to defend the town from pirates. It has
four canons on the top and two water cisterns that guaranteed
the town water supply in case of drought or sight. The round
Torre del Porto protects the Forte San Giorgio on Capraia since
1510, while the church and the Monastery of Sant'Antonio go
back to 1661, when the minor Francisca order commissioned the
building. The small church, today desecrated, is a typical example
of Pisan Baroque and features some interesting gravestones which
are decorated with episodes from the island's history. The Church
di San Nicola in piazza Milano goes back to 1759, while the
Zenobite tower is from the 16th century. It is on the south
of Capraia and got its name from the monks who hid here from
the imperial persecutions. The tower, which today is abandoned,
was built in the beginning of the 16th century by the Genovese
Banco di San Giorgio. It had a raised entrance, water reservoirs
and three floors and could be considered inexpugnable. On Gorgona,
the Medici family built the Torre Nuova in the 18th century
on the north peak of the Scalo in order to protect the island
from pirates and Saracens. It was a penal settlement until 1958,
but is today abandoned. |
Photos from APT Tuscan Archipelago and Mediaweb srl.
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