History (pag. 3)

Napoleon arrived the fourth of May of 1814 and found Elba united but exhausted. The most important sovereign of all its history has come. Almost 200 years have passed since Napoleon ruled the island for nine months, from the 4 of May of 1814 to th26 of February of 1815. Nonetheless, in such a brief period of time he succeded in setting up a deep, sincere and strong relationship with the land and its people. Today, Elba still celebrates him sincerely.The fifth of May of each year a requiem mass is held at the church of Misericordia -- where precious signs of his power are preserved -- to celebrate Napoleon not only as a sovereign but also as a man. Such a great man who had conquered the world and chosen this small island as a reign, could have suffered the narrowness of this condition. Yet, it didn’t happened and just after his arrival, he gave the island its flag showing three golden bees on a red stripe with a white background, which symbolizes cleverness and industry. Under this flag he joined exhausted people and changed this depressed land into a bright place. He built streets, gave rules and amministrative regulations, supported the public health, encouraged morality, imposed a new development of the mining industry and projected ironworks. His stay in the island was characterized by an untiring activity as if he knew to have a short time to spend there. It is likely that he thought that the Great Powers wouldn’t have left him free and close to them for a long time. Indeed, a distant exile or an execution were expected to seal his fate. The 26 of February, in the evening, Napoleon left the island with 1100 followers taking advantage of the absence of the English Commissioner. He would never come back but Elba will never forget him. He left here his tworesidences.In the town house, “villa dei Mulini”, which shows a quite simple architecture,Napoleon spent the first and the last months of this period. It preserves furniture, works of art and documents that belonged to him. The country house, “villa of San Martino”, was desired by the Emperor and built by extension of a country cottage. Today, there isa Napoleonic museum next to the villa that was built by the prince Demidoff. After Napoleon’s departure and his defeat, Elba was annexed to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1815 and it became part of the newly born Italy by plebiscite in 1860. The Italian Elba became an important iron center and it went through a flourishing trade development that also brought a stream of immigrants from the mainland. This industrial boom was also favoured by the loss of strategic weight of the island due to the accomplishment of the Italian unity. Yet, a new threat was already hanging over Elba, and the outbreak of the 2nd World War caused the destruction of Portoferraio. First the German, then the American Air Force bombed the city and its ironworks. In the post-war period the island started up its tourist trade leaving for ever the industrial activities.

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