The Fort Stella in Portoferraio

Forte Stella, together with Forte Falcone and the Torre della Linguella, is one of the three main bastions of the Medicean fortifications built in the city of Cosmopoli. The complex was designed in 1548 by architects Giovan Battista Bellucci and Giovanni Camerini, commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici to protect the island from pirate raids and foreign powers.

The fortress stands in a strategic position, on a hill at 49 metres above sea level, from which it was possible to monitor the northern coast of Elba Island and the entire bay of Portoferraio.

As the name suggests, the building has a five-pointed star shape. Its terracotta brick walls, with their characteristic reddish colour, are lined with loopholes and internal galleries designed for defence and surveillance.

One of the most significant elements in Forte Stella’s history is the bronze bust of Cosimo I de’ Medici, created by Benvenuto Cellini. The sculpture was placed in the niche above the fortress gate on 15 November 1557 to celebrate the founder of Portoferraio. On 2 May 1781, by order of Grand Duke Leopold I of Lorraine, the bust was removed and taken to Florence, where it became part of the Uffizi collections. Today, it is kept at the National Museum of the Bargello.

Did you know? It is said that Napoleon, upon arriving on Elba in 1814, went to Forte Stella specifically to see the bust of Cosimo, but was informed that it had been moved to Florence decades earlier.

Over the centuries, the structure underwent several expansions and modifications: in the 18th century by the Lorraine family, in the 19th century by the Bourbons, and in the second half of the 20th century it was privatised.

In 1788, Grand Duke Leopold had the current circular lighthouse built to replace the ancient beacon. Considered the most iconic building of the fortress, it was described by historian Sebastiano Lombardi as “the most beautiful and majestic of all those found in the Mediterranean”.

This Lighthouse rises from sea level to the Lantern for 130 braccia. From the entrance to the Lantern there is a spiral staircase of 80 steps. The Lantern is beautiful, entirely composed of thick iron pillars and solidly reinforced, so that 17,000 pounds of iron were used in its construction. All the panes are made of Bohemian crystal, perfectly sealed so that not the slightest draft enters the Lantern. The inner part of the Lantern dome is lined with copper sheeting, the outer with lead, and at its top stands a beautiful gilded sphere with a cross above.

This Lighthouse, given its luminous elevation above sea level and the location where it stands, is the most beautiful and majestic in the Mediterranean. I was in France twice in my youth, in 1757 and 1760. I observed all the lighthouses not only in France but as far as the one in Livorno, and I can say with some authority that none of those found in the Mediterranean can compare with that of Porto Ferrajo in terms of height and, even more so, in terms of location.

(Sebastiano Lombardi, Memorie antiche e moderne dell'isola d'Elba, Florence, 1791, pp. 241-242)

In addition to the lighthouse, Forte Stella now includes inner courtyards and several buildings that once housed a chapel, a cistern, an armoury, barracks for the soldiers, a warehouse, and a network of galleries used as emergency shelters in case of attack.

The fortress offers a breathtaking panoramic view over the bay of Portoferraio and the stretch of sea separating Elba from the Tuscan coast.