The Island of Elba and Portoferraio

Cruising down the Italian coast is an amazing experience. From the Ligurian coast south of Cinque Terre and the Gulf of Poets, we transitioned into the Tuscan Archipelago, where nature is on full display: towering green cliffs, small medieval towns, crystal-clear water, and enough history to fill libraries worldwide.

This stretch of coast is part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, which includes the island of Elba and its main town, Portoferraio. Elba is also famous as Napoleon’s first place of exile after his abdication in 1814. Under the Treaty of Fontainebleau, he kept the title of Emperor and was given sovereignty over the island, where he maintained a small court and ruled his tiny island realm for just under ten months.

We docked in Portoferraio looking forward to our excursion: a countryside drive and wine tasting, which I always enjoy. After boarding our tour bus, we were handed a map of Elba so we could orient ourselves with the island and our route. I really appreciated that. I still love a good map and enjoy understanding where I am in relation to everything around me.

🐟 A Bit About Elba

The island of Elba is shaped roughly like a fish, with its tail fins to the east and its head pointing west. Historically, it is best known for two very different things: nearly three thousand years of iron mining, and a brief but fascinating chapter as Napoleon’s personal island principality.

The mining history goes back astonishingly far. The Etruscans were smelting iron here as early as the 8th century BC, drawn by ore deposits so rich that Greek sailors nicknamed the island Aethalia, “the sooty one,” because of the smoke that constantly rose from its furnaces. The Romans later inherited the mines and called the island Ilva, the root of its modern name.

Mining continued in one form or another for nearly three thousand years, passing through the hands of Pisa, the Lords of Piombino, Napoleon himself, and eventually the Kingdom of Italy. Production finally ceased in 1980, with the last mines closing shortly afterward as ore reserves ran low and metal prices fell. Today, many of those old mining zones have been reborn as museums and protected parkland within the national park.

Then there is Napoleon. After his defeat and forced abdication in April 1814, he was exiled to Elba on surprisingly generous terms. He kept the title of Emperor, was granted sovereignty over the island, and received an annual income along with a small personal army and navy.

He arrived in Portoferraio in May 1814 and settled into a villa on the heights above town. He took his tiny 75-square-mile empire seriously, building roads, reorganizing the iron mines, and even redesigning parts of Portoferraio itself.

It did not last. Bored, worried he might be sent somewhere far more remote, and increasingly convinced that France still wanted him back, Napoleon slipped away from the island on February 26, 1815, with about a thousand men. He landed near Antibes and marched on Paris, launching the Hundred Days that would end four months later at Waterloo. His exile on Elba lasted just under ten months, but the island has never stopped trading on the connection.

The landscape and scenery across Elba depend heavily on rainfall, swinging from lush and green after a wet season to scrubby and almost desert-like during the dry months.

⚓ Porto Azzurro

Our route took us over the mountains and across one of the narrowest parts of the island toward the Lacona Peninsula and Porto Azzurro, a beautiful seaside town with a picturesque harbor and beaches of crystal-clear water. We had about an hour to explore this pristine little waterfront village, which turned out to have far more history behind it than its postcard looks let on.

For most of its history, Porto Azzurro was known as Porto Longone. It only took its prettier modern name in 1947. Towering over the harbor is the Fortezza di San Giacomo, a star-shaped fortress the Spanish built in 1603 to guard this stretch of coast. It was a serious military installation that later became one of Italy’s most notorious prisons and, remarkably, still functions as one today, visible only from the outside.

Napoleon actually stayed here too during his exile, using rooms inside the fortress as a third residence beyond his usual villas in Portoferraio. Apparently, he preferred it as a quiet escape from the capital he was nominally ruling.

🍷 La Chiusa Winery

From Porto Azzurro, we got back on the bus and headed to La Chiusa Winery. Visiting a winery is always so much fun. They are typically beautiful, each with its own story, and La Chiusa was no different.

The bus dropped us off on the main road, and we walked down a long gravel driveway through an olive orchard to reach the main buildings and acres of meticulously kept grapevines. What sets La Chiusa apart is its setting, right on the Mediterranean, entirely enclosed by an ancient rock wall that borders the property. That is where the name comes from: La Chiusa, meaning “the enclosed one.”

The estate includes a main villa for the owners, a covered wine-tasting and event space, beautiful gardens, and a scattering of working buildings. It was truly stunning, and I hope the pictures do it justice.

La Chiusa produces mostly white wines, along with a rosé, two reds, a sparkling wine, and a special sweet dessert wine, Aleatico dell’Elba Passito. We tasted five: a Bianco, a crisp white blend; Salmastro, a savory island-style white; a wonderful dry rosé; a hearty red made mostly from Sangiovese grapes; and the sweet dessert wine, paired with a cake they make to go with it.

Unlike some other winery tastings we have done, they skipped the lengthy explanation of each individual wine and instead gave us a simple overview of the grapes they grow and the wines they produce. A table of cheeses, salami, other meats, bread, and olive oil was laid out to pair alongside the wines. The pours were thankfully short, and it was a genuinely fun tasting.

I would have bought a bottle or two, but I still have not opened the wine I picked up on the food tour back in Cannes.

I took a lot of pictures because the setting was amazingly beautiful. From the estate, we could see Portoferraio and our ship across the bay. After the tasting, we wandered through the gardens for a bit, taking more photos, before heading back out through the olive groves and grapevines to the bus.

Honestly, I would have loved to stay on their estate for a few days to explore both the island and their wines in more depth. Maybe someday.

Back on the bus, it was a short ride into town.

🏰 Back in Portoferraio

Bob and I decided to walk through Portoferraio and grab a light lunch. Up on the hill above town sits a large fortified area, and inside its walls is Napoleon’s former residence, the Villa dei Mulini, tucked between two of the town’s Medici-era fortresses, Forte Falcone and Forte Stella.

Napoleon moved into the villa shortly after arriving on Elba in May 1814 and made it his main public residence during his Elban exile. He personally oversaw renovations, raising the central section of the building to accommodate a proper ballroom, turning the old granary into a theater, and converting the former on-site prison into a stable.

Money was tight, so the place never became the palace he might have wanted, but he furnished it well regardless, importing pieces from his sister’s palazzo in Piombino and even bringing furniture from Fontainebleau itself. He also built a veranda overlooking the channel, reportedly so he could watch for ships that might be carrying his wife and son to join him. They never came.

The villa has recently been restored and reopened to the public, including more than 5,000 square meters of historic gardens overlooking the harbor.

We did not have the legs or the time to climb the medieval cobblestone streets up to the top, but I am sure the view would have been amazing. All the more reason to return another day.

Elba and Portoferraio may be my favorite stop of the trip so far. The town was not overly crowded, the coastline we saw was spectacular, and there was clearly so much more left to discover.

After walking a bit more around town, we headed back to the ship to relax and change before sail away and dinner.