"
From Napoleon till Today"
The town of Napoleon par excellance is Portoferraio
on Elba, where you can make an itinerary dedicated to the big
emperor starting from the Mulini Palace, which was Napoleon's
main residence during his years on the Tuscan island. It got
its name from the mills that provided the old fortress, and
here Napoleon equipped a big hall for the parties, a small theatre,
several gardens among which the marvellous orange avenue stands
out. |
From
the Prehistory to the Romans |
| From
the Middle Ages to the Medici Family |
| From
the Medici Family to Napoleon |
Museums
Underwater
archaeology |
Still today the Mulini Palace hosts the first Napoleon flag
that was hoisted on the island. The flag has a red stripe, white
background with three golden bees, a symbol of the hard-working
marine of Elba. The Napoleon itinerary continues with the visit
to the Vigilante Theatre, in via del Carmine. It was built in
1616 by the governor Orazio of Bourbon and enlarged by the Medici
family. The building was transformed into a theatre by the emperor
who then gave it to his sister Paolina. The church of Misercordia
is a building from the 17th century and is located along the
Napoleon stairs. The funeral mask of the emperor is preserved
here. A mess in his honour is held the 5th of May every year,
since 1852. The San Martino Villa, just outside Portoferraio
along the road that leads to Procchio, was the summer residence
of the emperor.  Here
you find the so called "Bath of Paolina" decorated with the
text "Qui odit veritatem odit lucem" over the marble bath-tub,
the imperial library and two representation halls. One hall
preserves the famous painting " The Knod of Love" and the other
hall features a several wall decorations dedicated to the countryside
of Egypt. The villa was abandoned after the death of Napoleon
until the Florentine, Anatolio Demidoff, decided to purchase
the property and make a museum hosting the relics of the emperor,
the so called Demidoff Gallery. The Gallery opened in 1859 and
features books, jewels, stamps, paintings and art items which
belonged to Napoleon and his family. The bug and complete collection
was unfortunately dismembered by Demidoff's heirs and for a
short period the Gallery hosted a collection of natural science,
but it is also lost. Today the collection belongs to the Italian
state and preserves the Galatea statue, attributed to Antonio
Canova. Supposedly, Paolina, the emperor's sister modelled for
the statue. |
Photos from APT Tuscan Archipelago and Mediaweb srl.
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