Napoleon’s Mulini Villa on Elba

Mulini Villa, built in 1724, is nowadays the National Museum of Napoleonic Residences on Elba, together with Villa San Martino and it is located in the centre of Portoferraio between Forte Falcone and Forte della Stella.

You can get to Mulini Villa from the city centre: starting from the huge parking area by the Medicei bastion,  go upwards and cross Porta a terra arch, Via Sebastiano Lambardi and Via del Carmine (which originally was the hospital chapel built by marquis Sorbello family in 1617). Keep going along Via V. Hugo, cross the Sixteenth century arch and you will finally reach Mulini Villa. The Villa, also known as Palazzina,  used to be Napoleon and his court’s official residence on Elba island.

 Mulini Villa consists of two levels and during the tour along the ground floor, you will appreciate Napoleon’s residence, the Hall of the officials (Salone degli ufficiali) which will lead you to the Galleria that looks out onto the garden. The emperor himself ordered to build it; two beautiful statues embellish it: a Minerva, dated back  to the Ancient Greece, and a copy of Galatea by Antonio Canova (ispired by Napoleon’s sister Pauline), while the original one is located in the Galleria Demidoff in Villa San Martino in Portoferraio.

 In the Galleria  hall there are wall decorations, including the light pink curtain stretched out on the blue one which embellishes the ceiling. The hall is characterized by Empire furniture, some pieces coming from the  Fontainebleau realm, and impressive paintings, in particular a copy of the famous work by Jacques-Louis David, Napoleon at the Saint-Bernard Pass.

 Today it is possible to visit many rooms including the studio, the receiving hall, the valets’ room with Napoleon’s drawing caricatures, the closet room (with the Napoleon flag of Elba: red and white with three golden bees), the rich library which used to host more than 2000 valuable books, collected by Napoleon during his journeys and battles. In the library today there are about 1000 books, including the precious Moniteur Universel collection, between 1790 and 1813, the galleria, the hall of the officials and, on the first floor, there is Pauline’s residence.  Next to the library there is Napoleon’s chamber: in the middle of the room his original, iconic bed stands out, Empire decorated and brought from Paris by his mother Letizia. On the wall there is a portrait of the King of Rome, Napoleon’s son.

By the side of the Villa you will see the Salone delle Feste and, below the majestic building of Forte Stella, the garden, decorated with statues and fountains from where you can appreciate the same wonderful scenery that impressed the emperor himself.

Carrying on with the visit to the Napoleonic places in Portoferraio  old town, from Mulini Villa, you can go down to the dock through the walls of the Medici fortress and then along via Ferrandini, where you will find a plaque commemorating the stay of Lady Letizia.

In the middle of this steep road you will come across Via della Misericordia, which leads to the homonymous church where, in the annexed Museum, the bronze mask of Napoleon, with the cast of the hand, is preserved. It was taken at St. Helena by Dr. Anton Marchi, who performed the autopsy on the body of the great exile.

Going along, then, down the beautiful Renaissance staircase in pink stone, you will reach  Portoferraio downtown, along the Town Hall (the Biscotteria, the Bakery, from the XVI century) where, from May 4th, 1814, Napoleon lived for 8 nights.

Napoleon reached the harbor in Portoferraio on May 3rd, 1814 on the Undaunted frigate, but since he was not sure about the reception of Elba's population, he actually landed on the island the day after. At first in secret to Magazzini  and then officially at 15:30 to Elba Pier May 4th, 1814.

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