Portoferraio

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Napoleon in Portoferraio, Leo von Klenze, 1839.

Comune di Portoferraio
Municipal coat of arms
Country	Italy
Region	Tuscany
Province	Province of Livorno (LI)
Mayor	Roberto Peria (since June 2004)

Elevation	4 m
Area	47 km²
Population
- Total (as of 2004-12-31)	12,020
- Density	218/km²
Time zone	CET, UTC+1
Coordinates	42°49′N 10°19′E
Gentilic	Portoferraiesi
Dialing code	0565
Postal code	57037

Patron	St. Cristinus
- Day	April 29
Location of Portoferraio in Italy
Website: www.comune.portoferraio.li.it

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.

[edit] 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.

A view from the local mountains of Portoferraio.

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.