Portoferraio, Italy

Elba is a small island off the Tuscany coast of Italy, in the Province of Livorno. The island has 35,000 full time residents and attracts close to two million visitors a year. There are six smaller islands close by that the Italian government uses as prisons.  Portoferraio is the capital of Elba and is the most useful and modern part of town. 

Elba has lots of pink granite, green forests, and rugged mountain coastlines. It is known as the "Iron Port" and has produced iron ore from its mines since the 16th century BC.

When we arrived in Elba, the sky was overcast - our first ugly day of the trip. I wasn't feeling it, but we put on our tennis shoes and headed out in the rain.

Rainy "before" pics of Elba's beaches:

scary looking

We walked up to the old town to see the fort on top of the hill.

View from a window on the walls leading up to the fort

Fort Stella is one of three forts on Portoferraio built by the di Medici family. It is shaped like a star, and it sits on a hill overlooking Portoferraio. It was built in 1548 by Cosimo I Grand Duke of Tuscany in order to defend the town.

Joe ponying up some euros so we can go inside

entrance

guard post

The circular lighthouse by the fort has been described by historians as the most beautiful and magnificent lighthouse in all of the Mediterranean.

modeling in the rain

The French Emperor Napoleon I was exiled on the island of Elba for 300 days beginning in May 1814. The Palazzina dei Mulini (or Villa Mulini) means "Palace of the Mills" and it is where Napoleon chose to have his official residence. The villa is located on the highest part of Portoferraio which was very windy, and Napoleon destroyed two windmills to build the residence. We couldn't go inside because it was closed for renovations. 

view of Palazzina dei Mulini from Fort Stella

view of Portoferraio from Fort Stella

walking along the Fort's walkway

leaving the Fort

We continued exploring the town...

Napoleon was bored during his exile, so he spent his time implementing laws and regulations to greatly improve the lives of the residents of Elba. They love him.

Napoleon chotskys everywhere

AND THEN, the sun came out! It was magical. We found the beach, and look how pretty it was:

Elba redeemed itself

We got back on our boat and sailed away from our last stop while enjoying our Cinque Terre wine.

Last night on the Windsurf!