National Museum of the Villa dei Mulini in Portoferraio

Built in 1724 by the Grand Duke Gastone de' Medici, Napoleon had some alterations done to suit his own needs

Where it is	Portoferraio - Piazzale Napoleone
Opening hours [years]	weekdays: 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m; holidays 8.30 a.m. to 6.00 p.m;
Closed	on Tuesdays (from September 10th) and on January 1st, December 25th
Prices	Tickets: 5,00 euros (full price) - 2,50 euros (reduced) free admission for visitors under the age of 18 (on the condition that they come from a E.U. country, or from a coutry with which Italy has stipulated reciprocity international relations); reduced for visitors between the age of 18 to 25, and teachers in public schools; all inclusive ticket: 8,00 euros full price: visitors between the age of 18 to25, and teachers from public schools: 4,00 euros (allows you to visit both Palazzina dei Mulini and also Villa San Martino, valid for three days); admission is free first Sunday of the month.
Access for the disabled	Partial. No problem as regards the ground floor, but access to first floor is up a stairway.
Taking films and buying photographs	prior permission from the manager, according to the laws in force
Access to the building and grounds	the garden only
Contact numbers	Phone number +39 0565 915846

Please note that for safety reasons only 30 people at a time are allowed access to the Villa dei Mulini Museum.

Today the Palazzina dei Mulini, once the official residence of Napoleon, is a National Museum. During the Bicentenary in 2014 the first renovation work was carried out, and more is yet to come , in an attempt to bring the Villa back to its original beauty.

Built in 1724 by the Grand Duke Gian Gastone de' Medici, the original building wasn't what it's like now, because Napoleon had some alterations done by the architect Paolo Bargigli from Livorno to suit his own needs better: the central part that connected the two original buildings was made higher so he could have a ball room.

The entrance is on the ground floor, and the main rooms of the Emperor's apartment are connected by a corridor: the first room you come to is the main room, then the library and finally the bedroom. Going past the stairs that lead to the ball room, originally for Maria Luisa's use, but used solely by his sister Paolina, you get to his studio and the room for his pages.

The original furniture, that Napoleon had brought from his residence in Piombino by his sister Elisa Baciochi, no longer exists. Meticulous work done on the two residences with the addition of beautiful nineteenth century Imperial style furniture has brought the true Imperial atmosphere back to life. The library, on the other hand, still has the most important Napoleonic material: the books that the Emperor brought with him from the libraries in Fontainebleau and those that his uncle, Cardinal Fesch, gave to him.

In the garden, lying between the Building and the sea, there are two beautiful statues: one of Minerva that is thought to date back to ancient Greece, the other a copy of the Galatea of the Canova (they say Paolina Borghese posed for it), while the original is in the Demidoff Gallery in San Martino.