Napoleon Reenactments and Meetings on Elba Island
“Napoleon’s Mediterranean Routes”: four days of meetings, trekking, tastings, screenings, reenactments and “taste” meetings, from 2 to 5 May on the occasion of the 211th anniversary of Napoleon’s arrival on Elba. The initiative is organized by the Municipality of Portoferraio in collaboration with the Associated Management of Tourism, the Elba Island Foundation, the Union of Jurists of Vine and Wine, the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities and Iter Vitis – European Itinerary of Vines.
Among the most significant events are the two days at the Teatro dei Vigilanti in Portoferraio on May 3 and 4. The morning of Saturday 3 will be dedicated to the theme of “Protection of the quality of the wine heritage: from the Emperor’s Privilege for Elban wines to Regulation (EU) 2024/1143”. The following day, the morning of May 4, several Tuscan, Italian and European cities will discuss the theme “Portoferraio and Destination Napoleon, cultural itinerary of the Council of Europe: experiences and opportunities for sustainable cultural tourism”, to enhance the important Napoleonic heritage as the basis of a sustainable and integrated cultural and tourist offer.
European Federation of Napoleonic Cities
The two days will feature prominent national and international names,
with speeches, among others, by Vincent Chauvet and Charles Bonaparte, President and Honorary President of the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities, Barbara Toce of FECN, Professors Luigi Mascilli Migliorini and Angelino Carta, the director of the Napoleonic museums Andrea Camilli, Gloria Peria and Beppe Battaglini, Gelasio Gaetani D’Aragona Lovatelli. For the Region, Dr. Gennaro Giliberti and the Vice President of the Regional Council Marco Landi will be present. For Anci Toscana, Marina Lauri and Sonia Pallai will participate, Francesco Tapinassi for Toscana Promozione and Daniela Mugnai for Vetrina Toscana. Numerous representatives of Ugivi starting with Paolo Veronesi and Marco Giuri and Dr. Mariangela Marrangoni, organizer of the event, who will moderate one of the round tables. Patrizia Lupi, organizer of the event for the Fondazione Isola d’Elba, will moderate the round table dedicated to Elba’s food and wine heritage, which will be attended by Rossana Galletti and Alvaro Claudi for the AIC Delegazione Elba, Antonio Arrighi and Gianrico Fabbri of Slow Food Toscana. Numerous mayors representing the cities adhering to FECN, including Lucca, Signa, La Maddalena, Autun in France and Ierapetra in Crete, will participate in the round table moderated by Eleonora Berti, organizer of the event for FECN. The mayors Nocentini and Montagna, councilor Uela Padroni who organized the event for the Municipality of Portoferraio, as well as the president and vice president of the Fondazione Isola d’Elba Marco Mantovani and Paolo Di Tursi will bring greetings from the Elba entities.
Napoleon reenactments with meetings, trekking, tastings, and screenings
During the two days, side events will take place such as urban trekking, with the guidance of Paolo Fiorillo and Antonio Braschi of the Petit Armèe, and the screening of the films “L’esilio dell’Aquila” by Stefano Muti and “Napoleon” by Ridley Scott. It will be possible to discover the Napoleonic heritage of Portoferraio by participating in urban trekking in the footsteps of Napoleon, while the Elban municipalities will participate in a working table coordinated by the European Federation of Napoleonic Cities. On May 5, the mass in suffrage of the Emperor will be held at the Church of the Misericordia thanks to the collaboration of the Confraternity. The cultural association Historiae and the Petit Armèe collaborated in the various phases. The television broadcast la Pisaniana “L’Elba Napoleone ed il turismo culturale” (Napoleon on Elba and cultural tourism) will be recorded from the Palazzina dei Mulini, co-produced by Circolo Culturale F.Mazzei and TV 50 Canale.
They collaborated for the Napoleonic Reenactment
Thanks to the collaboration with some winemakers – Azienda Agricola Acquabona from the homonymous locality in Portoferraio, Az. Agricola Le Sughere di Montefico in Rio, L’az. Agr. Arrighi di Porto Azzurro – tastings of Elban wine production will be possible. On May 2nd, thanks to the availability of the Acquabona Golf Club and the Acquabona Farm Estate, the organizers, speakers and members of Iter Vitis, UGIVI and FECN, will be able to try a golf test and taste the products of one of the historic companies on the island. On May 3 and 4, the buffet for participants will be organized at the Chiostro della De Laugier and at the Teatro Bistro in Portoferraio, while on the evening of May 3, at 8:30 pm, a themed dinner is scheduled, “At the table with the Emperor”, curated by Michele Nardi and Alvaro Claudi, at the Galleria Demidoff in Villa San Martino.
Everyone will be able to participate in the dinner, which costs €60.00 per person, by booking in advance by writing to fondazioneisoladelba@gmail.com, until all places are filled.
Many of the activities on the calendar will be possible thanks to the collaboration with the Historiae Cultural Association and the Petite Armèe re-enactment group and thanks to the extraordinary opening of the National Museums of the Napoleonic Residences in Portoferraio, for which we must thank the staff and Prof. Camilli.
For information:
Municipality of Portoferraio: Uela Padroni u.padroni@comune.portoferraio.li.it
Elba Island Foundation: Patrizia Lupi fondazioneisladelba@gmail.com
Union of Jurists of Vine and Wine: Mariangela Marrangoni avvocatomarrangoni@gmail.com
FENC – Destination Napoleon: Eleonora Berti direction@napoleoncities.eu
