De Laugier Cultural Centre

In 1562, Cosimo I decided the ex San Salvatore Convent was to be turned into the seat of the Order of the Knights of Santo Stefano founded in Portoferraio the year before. When the Order was transferred to Pisa, the convent was passed on to the Franciscans, and with the suppressions carried out by the Grand Dukes and the French occupation, it was then turned into barracks. Today it is a Cultural and Congress Centre, and the building still bears the name of the Napoleonic Official Cesare De Laugier, of Elba origin, and hero of Curtatone and Montanara.

You go in via a large, square open space from where there is a wonderful view of the rooftops in Portoferraio and the Medicean basin. On the ground floor there is a Renaissance portico that leads to a patio with a well. The rooms inside, used as water tanks in the past, are now rooms for exhibitions, special events and conferences. The conference hall, the Library, and the Foresiana Picture Gallery are on the first floor, and here you can find some of the most valuable remains of the Island's history and culture.