Elba

For other places with the same name, see Elba (disambig).

Elba (top centre) from space, February 1994. North is approximately to the right.

Elba and the Tuscan Archipelago.

Elba (Latin "Ilva") is an island in Tuscany, Italy, 20 km from the coastal town of Grosseto ([42°44′N 10°22′E]) . It is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest after Sicily and Sardinia. Elba and other islands of the Tuscan Archipelago are protected in the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago.

The island is divided into eight communes: the capital Portoferraio, Campo nell'Elba, Capoliveri, Marciana, Marciana Marina, Porto Azzurro, Rio Marina and Rio nell'Elba.

Contents

1 History
2 Trivia
3 References
4 External link

History

Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to Elba after he was forced to abdicate in 1814. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of six hundred men and was made the Emperor of the island. Although he was nominally sovereign of Elba, the island was watched (more or less) by British naval patrols. During these months, partly to pass the time and partly out of a genuine concern for the well-being of the people, he carried out a series of economic and social reforms to improve the quality of life on Elba. Napoleon stayed on Elba for 9 months and 21 days before he escaped Elba and returned to France on February 26 for a Hundred Days. He was subsequently exiled again this time to the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, where he died.

French troops landed on Elba on June 17 1944.

More recently, the island has become famed for its wine.

Free-diver Jacques Mayol committed suicide here on December 22, 2001.

Trivia

-Napoleon's stay on the island is the basis for the famous palindrome: "Able was I ere I saw Elba."

References

Chandler, David G. The Illustrated Napoleon. New York: Henry Holt And Company. ISBN 0-8050-0442-4

External link

[Elba World] is a site with a big session about general history, geology, characteristics and itineraries for the island, with a photographic gallery.

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