Portoferraio is the capital of the Elba Island, the village is located on the north coast and beyond to be the main center is also the most important port on the island. Portoferraio has around 12,000 inhabitants. 

The place was named Fabricia during the Roman period and during the Middle Ages was called Feraia, becoming an important port for the mineral resources of iron from which the name of the city. Portoferraio had to undergo major destruction at the hands of Saracens who destroyed it, it was only later, around the sixteenth century, that with the arrival on the island of Medici began a new renaissance for the city, they enrich it with rich buildings and mighty fortifications, making it an impregnable fortress. In 1814 it became the residence, for only a few months, for the short reign of Elba by Napoleon Bonaparte, who lived in the Villa of San Martino and the Palazzina dei Mulini. 

Attractions in Portoferraio: In addition to the two houses of Napoleon, do not miss a visit to the Medicean fortress, including the Forte Stella, the Forte Falcone, and the Fronte Terra that, in the past, it was a great defensive barrier, surrounded by a ditch that made impregnable the citadel of Portoferraio along with its massive ramparts. 

The Town Hall was built for Cosimo I, in the mid-500, to provide through the ovens for cooking bread for the garrison; Church of S.S. Sacramento dating back to 1551, where inside are ancient liturgical vestments (1500-1700), the throne of Napoleon, a wooden cross, a bronze copy of the mask of Napoleon; the Church of S. Rocco next to a small cemetery in which were buried the victims of plague and justice; the Church of the Misericordia of 1677, which houses the relics of the city's patron saint, S. Cristino martyr.

The stretch of coastline that from Portoferraio goes to Bagnaia is delicious and along the road is possible to make a visit to Punta delle Grotte, where lie the remains of a Roman villa dating back to Adrian, here you can see beautiful mosaics and then continuing to get a Magazzini where there is a church and columns belonging to the Pisan Romanesque. 

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Portoferraio, Elba Island, Livorno
Portoferraio, Elba Island, Livorno	Portoferraio, Elba Island, Livorno	Portoferraio, Elba Island, Livorno