Part I
A day in Portoferraio
I love the Island of Elba. Those who know me are patient with my overly enthusiastic responses at the mention of this quaint section of the Tuscan Archipelago. It’s a small island off the coast of Tuscany, about an hour’s ferry ride from Piombino. However, Elba is best known for being the former home of the exiled French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was well-liked on the island; he improved the infrastructure and treated the locals with respect. But after nine months he escaped, leading me to think he had a change of heart about becoming an Elbano. Or he just really wanted to get back to France. I wonder if Elba is like many of these tourists places that are lovely to visit, but perhaps a bit more difficult to live in year-round. Last May my partner and I travelled to Portoferraio, the capital of the island and the residence of Napoleon. We discovered incredible sea views, delectable gelato, and we got to pet some street cats…it was a day well spent.
How to get there
We began our trip to Portoferraio from Rio Nell’ Elba, a little village on the east side of the island where my partner’s family has a vacation home. We immediately made the mistake of trusting the island’s bus system. At the time the bus company was undergoing a transition from being operated locally to being managed by an app called Tabnet. Since there was no longer a way to buy tickets from a tobaccheria (small convenience stores where you can buy transportation tickets and stamps etc. in Italy) we attempted to purchase our tickets online. After a ten minute registration process which required my Italian equivalent of a social security number, the site crashed. It was getting intense; we had to get on the bus or we weren’t going to get to Portoferraio in time to see the sights. A call to “customer service” led to no answers. We went to the bus stop anyway, maybe a local would have the answers. There was one woman at the stop, but she didn’t seem to know how to obtain a ticket. What a mysterious place; there is only one bus for this part of the island and no one knew how to go about getting a ticket. The bus appeared exactly on time, and the driver sold us our tickets. Normally in Italy is impossible to buy tickets onboard, so this was quite a surprise. Crisis averted, we got on the bus and finally were on our way.
Portoferraio is nestled in a cove on the northern coast of the island. It is easily reachable by a ferry from the mainland. All ferries depart from marina in Piombino, which is another cute little Tuscan town on the sea with access to trains running to and from Florence and Pisa regularly. We arrived in Rio Marina because we were staying there, but if you plan to make Portoferraio your base while exploring Elba it is possible to go directly from Piombino. It is also the possibile to take a car or scooter on the ferry, but in any case, make the reservation before going to the marina in Piombino. Ticket prices and availability will depend on the season. This journey took place in May, which was right before the beginning of the high season.
What to eat
We arrived in Portoferraio late in the morning. The marina was calm and only a few locals were out and about. The Napoleon Museum wouldn’t be open until the afternoon, so we did what we always do; we walked. Our quest for pizza went unfulfilled. I ended up buying a slice from a small bar and we turned our attention to procuring some gelato. It was getting toasty under the midday sun, so something cool was in order. We found the top-rated gelateria Zero Gradi tucked away in a quiet little square. I enjoyed my cuppeta (you must choose between a cup or a cone at the gelataria) of two flavors, while Tommaso had his gelato served with an enormous brioche bun the size of his fist. He did forgo the pizza, after all.
What to do
After we devoured our gelato we wandered the streets of Portoferraio aimlessly to burn up an hour before Napoleon’s house opened. We stumbled across the cemetery and decided to take a look around. Although neither of us like the idea of a final resting spot such as this, we enjoy visiting cemeteries whenever possible. It is so entertaining to read about the inhabitants of a place and see all of the old names. In Portoferraio one hundred years ago the most common ladies’ name was Annunziata, for example. Rich or poor, everyone who lives here ends up together in this place. As a Minnesotan, it has been strange to see the graveyards of Europe. In most cases no one is buried in the ground; here on Elba you are placed in a tomb or mausoleum if you were rich, or you are stacked with your family members in a cryptic shelving system if you were poor or middle- class.
Finally, it was time to go to Napoleon’s house. We made our way back towards the sea through the winding streets. Upon arrival, we lined up with a handful of other tourists. They were German and had come to Elba on a small cruise ship that was docked in the marina. After the Covid 19 restrictions were lifted it was pleasant to see people from other countries. In this case the arrival quarantines had been discontinued so that people could enter Italy freely. It costs only five euros to enter the museum, officially known as Palazzina dei Mulini.
According to the Minestero Della Cultura website the original part of the villa was built in 1724, and it was later modified to Napoleon’s specifics during his time here. It consists of two houses connected by a huge open gallery. Outside we could see an expansive garden overlooking the sea. The house is lavishly decorated as one would expect; poor Napoleon had wished for a court-like setting to follow him in his exile. He slept on a camp bed in a small room, as though he couldn’t quite let go of the military life. I was more interested in the garden, which was not yet in full bloom and under construction. While appreciating the beautiful weather we admired the finest of yard ornaments: a cannon.
As the sun set, we took one more stroll through the town before returning to the main bus stop. We had bought our tickets to Rio Nell’ Elba from the biglietteria (ticket booth) in advance to prevent disaster. As it was still the low season many of the shops were closed, but there were many unique artisan boutiques to see and of course, there was more food. Portoferraio is an enjoyable little town with its’s views, history, and delicious diversions.