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Island of Elba Napoleon’s windmill villa
Windmill villa, built in 1724, it’s now National museum of the Napoleonic dwellings in Elba island along with Saint Martin villa and it’s located in Portoferraio town between Fort Falcone and Fort Stella.
To get to Windmill Villa from Portoferraio town you have to go up from the big car park at the bottom of the medicean bulwarks, through the barrel vault of Porta a terra, Sebastiano Lambardi street and Carmine street( born as chapel of the hospital with the same name built by marquis Sorbello’s family in 1617). Going on Hugo street, through the barrel vault of the sixteenth century, you get to the windmill villa. It was the official dwelling of Napoleon and his court in Elba island.
The building is developed on two floors and while visiting it you could see the emperor’s apartment on ground floor, the officers’ hall you enter from the wide hall ( the gallery) which overlooks the garden Napoleon built, decorated with two beautiful statues: a Minerva from the ancient Greek era and a copy of Canova’s Galata. ( his sister Paolina Borghese posed for it), while the original statue can be found at Demidorf gallery at the Saint Martin Villa in Portoferraio.
In the hall of the gallery there are wall decorations, such as the dainty pink veil laid on the blue one that decorates the ceiling and it’s furnished with empire style furniture , some from the Fontainebleu royal palace, and relevant paintings, such as a copy of the famous Jacques –Louis David work, that portrays Napoleon at Saint Bernard Pass.
The rooms you can now visit are the office , the hall, butler room with emperor’s caricatures, the wardrobe (with the napoleon Elba flag (white,red with three golden bees) , the well stocked library which used to have more than 2000 books Napoleon had collected during his trips and his battles. Today there are about 1000 books in the library, including the valuable collection of Moniteur Universel from 1790 to 1813, the gallery, the officers hall and the apartment of Paolina Borghese on first floor with the original amazing bed in the middle, decorated in empire style, brought by Letizia Bonaparte from Paris, with a portrait of the king of Rome (napoleon’s son ) hung on the wall.
On the side of the villa there is the dance hall and below the massive building of Fort Stella there’s the garden, with statues and fountains , from which you can enjoy the wonderful view that charmed the emperor as well.
Going on with the tour of the Napoleonic places in the town of Portoferraio , from the windmill villa you can walk down to the dock walking through the wall of the medicean bulwarks and walking trough Ferrandini Street, where there is a headstone as a reminder of Donna letizia ( the emperor’s mother) staying. Halfway this steep street, there is a side street, Misericordia street, that leads to the church with the same name where, in the nearby museum, there is ,along with his hand print , the bronze mask of Napoleon taken by Doctor Vittorio Marchi who performed the autopsy on the famous exiled. Walking downhill on the amazing renaissance staircase made with pink stone, we reach the town of Portoferraio, walking along the town hall ( the Biscotteria built in the XVI century) where he stayed for 8 nights from the 4th of may 1814.
Napoleon arrived at the dock of Portoferraio on the 3rd may 1814 on the frigate Undaunted and, as he wasn’t sure on how the people at Elba would have welcomed him, he landed the following day. At first he secretly landed at magazzini and then officially at 3.30 pm at Elba’s pier on the 4th may 1814.
Information on the museum and opening times
| Opening times: |
Open Working days: 8.30-19.00 Holidays: 8:30-13:30 Closed on tuesdays; 1st of January; gennaio; 1st of May; 25th December For info and booking; ph. & fax (+39) 0565.915846 |
| Price |
€ 5,00 full price - € 2,50 reduced price Free entry for visitors younger than 18 and older than 65, only applied for EU citizens or citizen of countries that made a reciprocal agreement with Italy Up to 18 years old and public school teachers: € 1,50 Free entry every first Sunday of the month. |
| Location |
Loc. Mulini - Portoferraio |
Villa Napoleon San Martino
Villa San Martino is located in Portoferraio and it is the Napoleonic Residences National Museum on Elba together with Mulini Villa, located in the old town.
Napoleon’s Mulini Villa on Elba
Mulini Villa, Villa dei Mulini, was built in 1724 and renovated by Napoleon in 1814, and it is located in Portoferraio old downtown.
Napoleon and the Vigilanti Theater
The Elba Island's Theatre wanted by Napoleon was inaugurated on January 24 in 1815.
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