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Portoferraio is a town and commune in the province of Livorno, on the edge of the eponymous harbour in the Elba island. It is the largest city in the island, although its typical buildings grow on the slopes of a tiny hill surrounded on three sides by the sea.
History It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in 1548, with the name of Cosmopoli ("Cosimo's City"), to balance the presence of the Spanish citadel in Porto Azzurro. It had three forts (Forte Stella, Forte Falcone and Forte Inglese) and a massive line of walls, all still visible today. The city remaind to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany until the 18th century, when, due to its strategic position, it was contended by France, England and Austria. In 1814 it was handed over to Napoleon Bonaparte, as the seat of his first exile. In the 19th century, the city grew quickly, due to the construction of insfrastructures and the exploitment of new iron mills in Rio Marina. Portoferraio became then main shipping port of the ore towards the mainland, whence the current name, meaning "Iron Port" in Italian. After the end of the Napoleonic Era, Portoferraio returned to Tuscany, and became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. Portoferraio's economy suffered from the end of mining activities starting from the 1970s, but in the following decades it gained a status as an internationally renowned tourist resort. Main sights The town center is crowded around the small marina drawn in a natural cove. Main points of interest include: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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