• Home
  • Getting about

    Getting about

    Back
    • Rentals
    • Taxi services
    • Bus services
    • Park areas
  • Stays
  • Eat
  • Sea

    Sea

    Back
    • Beaches
    • Bathing establishments
    • Diving centers
    • Sailing
  • Guided excursions
  • Sports
  • Places to see
  • Special offers
  • Last minute offers
  • Ferries
Infoelba - Dove natura è vacanza
  • Italian
  • English
  • German
  • French
  • Infoelba - Dove natura è vacanza

Sleep

  • Find accommodation
  • Request a quote
  • Hotels
  • Residences
  • Bed & Breakfast
  • Farm holidays
  • Campsites
  • Farm campsites
  • Apartments and holiday homes
  • Villas and independent houses
  • Villas
  • Luxury accommodations

Travel info

  • Ferries
  • How to reach the island
  • Getting around the island
  • Car and scooter rental
  • Online scooter rental
  • Taxi and car hire

Elba Island

  • Beaches and coasts
  • Towns and villages
  • What to see
  • Tuscan Archipelago National Park
  • Recommended itineraries
  • Webcams

Experiences

  • Water sports
  • Outdoor sports
  • Wine & Food Experience
  • Guided tours
  • Boat trips
  • Elba by bike
  • Events and festivals

Services

  • Restaurants and pizzerias
  • Tourist and real estate agencies
  • Campers and caravans
  • Beach establishments
  • Boat rental
  • Bike and e-bike rental
  • Weather
  • Useful numbers
Last minute booking 4 Special offers 7 Apartaments 218 Small villas and detached houses 17 Bed & breakfast 16 Hotels 79 Villas 7 Residences 47 Farm holiday centres 14 Campsites 18 Farm holiday campsites 1
  1. Island of Elba
  2. Discovering Elba
  3. History of Elba
    • Following the footsteps of Napoleon
    • From the Argonauts to Barbarossa
    • The Appiani dominion
    • The Medici and Cosmopoli
    • The Spaniards
    • Contemporary history in Elba
    • The history of the mines

History of the Island of Elba

Historical notes concerning Elba and its origins

When we think of Elba, we immediately think of the fantastic sea surrounding it, the green of the Mediterranean scrub that envelops it, its stunning beaches with the countless coves that make it unique, and naturally, also of Napoleon, despite having only lived on the island for less than a year.

But the history of this island is not limited to the ten months of the French Emperor and stretches far back: all the way to the Middle and Upper Paleolithic, as evidenced by the remains found in the Marciana Archaeological Museum, along with materials from the Eneolithic burial site of San Giuseppe and from the Sub-Appennine villages of the Marciana mountain, as explained by Dr. Umberto Gentini, former Director of the Tuscan Archipelago Tourism Promotion Agency.

"History has made the Island of Elba the stage for great events: no Mediterranean civilization has failed to leave significant traces of its passage. Nature, art, and millennia-old culture, enclosed in a microcosm of 224 km², create a unique atmosphere, evoking extraordinary scenes, the result of encounters between different peoples."

According to mythological accounts, it is at Porto Argon, today's Capo Bianco, that Jason stopped during the adventurous quest for the Golden Fleece and, as Virgil reveals in the Aeneid, from the same port, three hundred young Elbans set sail to help "Pious Aeneas" in his fierce battle against the Rutuli. For the Etruscans, Elba was an inexhaustible source of wealth: as early as the 8th century BC, they exploited the mines and exported iron across the Mediterranean basin, making enormous riches.

Thus, furnaces were built, which day and night melted minerals with bright flames, and as Aristotle narrates, they gave the name Aethalia, spark, to Elba, attributed by Greek sailors. From the five centuries of Etruscan domination, several necropolises, some furnace remains, and numerous "hilltop villages" remain, set in inimitable scenic backdrops.

From the decline of Etruscan power, the Romans inherited the steel industry but also valued the granite deposits and discovered the healing muds of the San Giovanni Baths, the beauty of the landscape, and the excellent wines.

"The island of good wine," said Pliny the Elder. Thus, an intense traffic of ships loaded with amphorae flourished: many are preserved in the Portoferraio Archaeological Museum and Marciana Museum, and, together with surprising finds recovered from the sea, they tell the entire history of ancient navigation. In the most picturesque gulfs, grandiose patrician villas of Linguella, the Grotte, and Capo Castello were built, places of joy then as now.

In the Middle Ages, the Maritime Republic of Pisa exploited the iron mines and granite from Elba: most of the columns that adorn Piazza dei Miracoli were shaped by the skilled stonemasons of San Piero. From the Pisan period, numerous testimonies remain: the refined Romanesque churches and the San Giovanni in Campo tower, built on a massive granite boulder, but above all the mighty "Fortress" of Marciana and the Volterraio Manor, sentinels of the mountains and seas.

In 1548, it was the turn of the Medici: Cosimo I built the fortified city of Portoferraio, a true jewel of military urbanism. The harmony between the sea, land, and architectural works was so perfect that the new city was called Cosmopoli, "the cradle of civilization and culture, an example of balance and rationality."

Shortly after, the Spaniards settled in Porto Azzurro and built the imposing Forte San Giacomo, which now hosts the House of Punishment, but also several chapels and the picturesque Sanctuary of Monserrato, nestled on a dark "dolomitic" mountain.

In the 18th century, Elba was contested by Austrians, Germans, English, and French, with frantic diplomatic negotiations or fierce battles, until it was assigned in "full ownership and sovereignty" to Napoleon Bonaparte, who, in his ten months of rule, left significant footprints: he built roads, reorganized the mining economy, and increased the production and export of wine.

From an ancient desecrated church, he created a charming theater, which, restored to its former splendor through expert restoration, is now the venue for important cultural events.

Upon his return to France for the fateful Hundred Days, Napoleon left two residences, now National Museums and visited every year by thousands of visitors: Villa San Martino and Villa dei Mulini.

And the magic continues. A favored subject of the great Macchiaioli painters, Elba hosts Italian and foreign artists who gather in discreet circles, with open gates for endless memory festivals.

Following the footsteps of Napoleon

The story of the exile of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on the Island of Elba: 1814-1815. His works and his women.

The arrival in Elba

The emperor chose the Island of Elba for his 10 month exile
Read more

The first night

Napoleon is given hospitality, on the night of his arrival, in the Town building in Portoferraio.
Read more

The Villa dei Mulini

Napoleon found the perfect place to stay: the Villa dei Mulini in the old historical part of Portoferraio.
Read more

Napoleon and Elba

The intense military, economic and social work carried out by Napoleon while he was exiled on the island
Read more

The Villa in San Martino

Napoleon buys the Villa in San Martino as his summer residence and love nest with Maria Luisa.
Read more

Madame Mère's arrival

On August 2nd Napoleon's mother, Letizia, goes to Portoferraio where she remains until the end of her son's exile.
Read more

Love story with Maria Walewska

Napoleon's lover arrives in Elba on September 1st 1814, and went with him to the Madonna del Monte hermitage, a much loved place of Napoleon.
Read more

Paolina Borghese and her parties

The third lady who made Napoleon's 300 days in Elba more pleasant was Paolina Borghese, his sister.
Read more

Napoleon leaves Elba

Napoleon didn't flee from Elba, but organized his departure many days before.
Read more

From the Argonauts to Barbarossa

From the Argonauts to Barbarossa's conquest and loot, via the Etruscan dominion. Read more

The Appiani dominion

At the end of the 14th century the Appiani, from Piombino, Pianosa and Montecristo, took over from the Pisans. Read more

The Medici and Cosmopoli

Under the Medici, Portoferraio was fortified and became a strategic Mediterranean port.

Cosmopoli

The city fortified by Cosimo I de' Medici, thought up as a military defence with the aim of defending the coasts of the grand duchy of the Island of Elba.
Read more

The Order of the Knights of Santo Stefano

The Order of the Knights of Santo Stefano was created by Cosimo I° de' Medici and was similar to the one that already existed, the Knights of Malta.
Read more

The Cosimo l de' Medici bust

The bust, escorted by Camerini, who describes it as being twice Cosimo's natural size down to his belt, was brought to Portoferraio on November 15th 1557.
Read more

Cosmopoli today

Discovering the history of Cosmopoli by going round the walls of the old part of the city and the port or following the old roads of the city.
Read more

Five hundredth anniversary birth Cosimo de' Medici

The Island of Elba celebrates the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Cosimo l de' Medici: special events, historical remakes and parades.
Read more

The Spaniards

The Spaniards ruled over the eastern part of Elba, Porto Azzurro and Rio, for 150 years, and built fortifications Read more

Contemporary history in Elba

From the Congress of Vienna to the boom in tourism: the history of Elba via the Unification of Italy and the two World Wars. Read more

The history of the mines

The iron ores in Elba are among the oldest mines in the world.

Rio Marina: the iron capital

The transformation of Rio Marina from a sea town to an important iron and steel centre.
Read more

Mining Capoliveri

The history of the mines in Capoliveri: from the Etruscans to the boom in tourism of the 60s.
Read more
Plan your stay: request a free quote for your holiday
  • Sleep
  • Find accommodation
  • Request a quote
  • Hotels
  • Residences
  • Bed & Breakfast
  • Farm holidays
  • Campsites
  • Farm campsites
  • Apartments and holiday homes
  • Villas and independent houses
  • Villas
  • Luxury accommodations
  • Travel info
  • Ferries
  • How to reach the island
  • Getting around the island
  • Car and scooter rental
  • Online scooter rental
  • Taxi and car hire
  • Elba Island
  • Beaches and coasts
  • Towns and villages
  • What to see
  • Tuscan Archipelago National Park
  • Recommended itineraries
  • Webcams
  • Experiences
  • Water sports
  • Outdoor sports
  • Wine & Food Experience
  • Guided tours
  • Boat trips
  • Elba by bike
  • Events and festivals
  • Services
  • Restaurants and pizzerias
  • Tourist and real estate agencies
  • Campers and caravans
  • Beach establishments
  • Boat rental
  • Bike and e-bike rental
  • Weather
  • Useful numbers

Infoelba non si assume alcuna responsabilità per l'uso di marchi e slogan usati dagli inserzionisti e per eventuali errate indicazioni.

Informa inoltre che i listini prezzi, orari, date o altro materiale informativo pubblicato su questo sito è suscettibile a variazioni.

:: Siete quindi invitati a chiedere conferma alle strutture interessate ::

Infoelba

©1999-2025 Infoelba s.r.l. Unipersonale - Viale Teseo Tesei, 12 - Centro Servizi Il Molino - 57037 Portoferraio (LI)

P. IVA e C.F. 01130150491 - capitale sociale €10.000,00 i.v. - registro imprese numero 01130150491 - REA: LI - 100635

infoelba® it is a registered trademark - all rights reserved - Accesso all'area riservata

Share on

Facebook WhatsApp Email

Link copied to clipboard!