Figure 1.--This photograph was taken on Elba at Portoferraio during 1960s. It might have been taken anywhere in Italy. |
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Another famous but smaller island is Elba located only a few miles off the Tuscan coast. Elba is the best known island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It has beautiful beaches and interesting fortress towns. The island is 20 km from the mainland, separated by the Piombino Channel. It is the largest remaining surface stretch of land that once connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. There are treeless mountain ranges. The highest elevation is Monte Capanne (about 1,000 meters). The island has not featured prominately in history, but it has a long history. The first inhabitants were the Ligures Ilvati and as a result was called lva in ancient times. It was renounded for its iron resources and mines. The Greeks called it Aethalia (fume) because of the metal smelting furnaces. The Etruscans seized the island and then the Romans (about 480 BC). After the fall of Rome the island was pillaged by first barbarians and then, like other Mediterranean islands, the Saracens During the medieval period it was transferred to several different principalities. Durung the Napoleonic Wars it was acquired by France. Partly as a result, after Napoleon abdicated (1814), he was given possession of Elba as a sovereign principality. He arrived on the island (May 4, 1814). He at first set about mofernizing his new fiefdom. He oversaw needed improvements, especially the roads. Soon he came to believe that it was not a worthy task for a ruler of hid genius. He slipped away from the island (February 26, 1815) and sucessfully eluded Royal Naval patrols to launch is 100 Days Campaign ending at Waterloo. The Congress of Vienna subsequently restored the island to Tuscany (1815). And as such it necame part of the unified Italian Kingdom.
Elba is an Italian Mediterranean island. This may surprise many who because of Napolenon assume that Elkba is French. Actually it was only French for a decade It is located only a few miles, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from the Tuscan ciast. Elba is the best known island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It has beautiful beaches and interesting fortress towns. The island is 20 km from the mainland, separated by the Piombino Channel. It is the largest remaining surface stretch of land that once connected the Italian peninsula to Corsica. The nearest town is Piombino. Elba is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia. It is located in the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of the French island of Corsica. Elba is the largest remaining stretch of archaic land tract that connected the Italian mainland to Corsica. The northern coast of Elba faces the Ligurian Sea, the eastern coast the Piombino Channel, the southern coast the Tyrrhenian Sea, and the Corsica Channel divides the western tip of Elba from Corsica to the west. There are treeless mountain ranges. The highest elevation is Monte Capanne (about 1,000 meters).
Elba has not featured prominately in history, but it has a long history. Many civilizations have inhabited the island. The first inhabitants were the Ligures Ilvati and as a result was called lva in ancient times .The first inhabitants were the Ligures Ilvati and as a result was called lva in ancient times. It was renounded for its iron resources and mines. The Greeks called it Aethalia (fume) because of the metal smelting furnaces. The Etruscans seized the island and then the Romans (about 480 BC). After the fall of Rome the island was pillaged by first barbarians and then, like other Mediterranean islands, the Saracens. During the medieval period it was transferred to several different principalities. With the rise of French power during thE Napoleonic era, the island became a French possession, and its economy flourished as never before (1802). With Napoleon's fall, inder the terms the Treaty of Fontainebleau, Napoleon was exiled to Elba after his forced abdication (1814). Napoleon arrived at Portoferraio (May 30, 1814). He was permitted to keep a personal guard of 600 men. elba under Napoleon was a sovereign pincipality. The British fromthe beginning were on edge. Napoleon's Elba was patrolled by the Royal Navy. Napoleon threw himself into the task of modernizing the island, both econonomic and social reforms. He gave a lot of attention to the roads. This was his very nature, but from an early point he saw Elba as not a worthy task for a ruler of his genius. He was determined not to be confined to Elba. Napoleon remained on Elba for less than a year--300 days. He embarked for France and after aluding Royal Naval patrols, a new attempt at power (February 26, 1815). His adventure lasted a Hundred Days. With his defeat at Waterloo he was exiled again, this time to the desolate South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. The Congress of Vienna allocated Elba to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It subsequently became part of the new unified Kingdom of Italy (1860).
The island's population is ethnically Italian. the Ligures Ilvati were the first inhabitants of Elba. They were followed by the Etrscans and Romans. The Greeks, Ligurians, the Saracens, Pisans, Germanic barbarians, the Medici, and spanish have all left their imprint.
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