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Founded by Cosimo de’ Medici, Portoferraio is
an attractive town with twin forts, set on a panoramic bay on Elba’s
north coast. Our hotel, in the grounds of a 19th-century villa, is on
the opposite shore. Portoferraio is associated with Napoleon’s exile
to the island in 1814-15 and we will visit the Villa dei Mulini, with
his library and mementoes, the neo-classical Theatre and the church of
the Misericordia, with Napoleonic relics. Nearby is his summer residence,
the Villa di San Martino, decorated in ‘Retour d’Egypte’
fashion. Napoleon’s charming, if relatively modest, home is in contrast
with the grand neo-classical villa built in his memory by Prince Demidoff.
From Marciana Marina, with its sea-front lined with
painted stuccoed houses, we drive up through the chestnut woods of Monte
Capanne to Marciana Alta. Apart from the scenic views,
the village is worth a visit for its Romanesque church and ruined Pisan
castle. We will be shown the church of San Niccolò in the Pisan
fortress of San Piero in Campo; the sandy horseshoe bay
of Marina di Campo, where the Allies landed in 1944;
the Monastery of Monserrato, built by the Spanish governor
in the 17th century; the medieval hill-town of Rio nell’Elba
and the small port of Rio Marina, of Pisan origin. There
will be visits to a private terraced garden and to La Chiusa,
a family-run wine estate surrounding an 18th-century villa with a secret
walled garden. This delightful place was visited by Napoleon and featured
by John Le Carré in ‘The Constant Gardener’.
Returning by ferry to the mainland, we cross to the port of Livorno,
which was laid out on a polygonal plan for the Medici. We will see the
fortress, designed by Sangallo; the Duomo, whose original portal was attributed
to Inigo Jones and the Monument to the Four Moors, masterpiece of Pietro
Tacca.
Lucca is famed for its ramparts and Pisan-Romanesque
churches, notably San Michele in Foro, on the site of the Roman Forum,
and the Cathedral, with the tomb of Ilaria del Carretto, by Jacopo della
Quercia. We will drive to Pisa to admire the Campo dei
Miracoli and visit the Museo delle Sinopie and the Picture Gallery. Finally,
we will visit Villa Reale at Marlia, once property of
Napoleon’s sister, described by Georgina Masson as having ‘the
most magnificent garden room in Italy’.
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