http://public.fotki.com/JohnVanHulst/go-johnny-go/spring-italy-2008/elba/ Elba (Latin: Ilva) is an island in Tuscany, Italy, 20 km (12 mi) from the coastal town of Piombino. It is the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago, and the third largest island in Italy after Sicily and Sardinia. Elba and the other islands of the Tuscan Archipelago are protected in the National Park of the Tuscan Archipelago. The French island of Corsica lies about 50 km (31 mi) to the west. In Italian it is called Isola d'Elba. Contents Following the Treaty of Fontainebleau, French emperor Napoleon I was exiled to Elba after his forced abdication in 1814 and arrived at Portoferraio on May 3, 1814 to begin his exile there. He was allowed to keep a personal guard of six hundred men. Although he was nominally sovereign of Elba, the island was watched (more or less) by British naval patrols. Napoleon stayed on Elba for 300 days before he escaped and returned to France on February 26 for the Hundred Days. After his defeat at Waterloo he was subsequently exiled again, this time to the barren and isolated South Atlantic island of Saint Helena. Napoleon's stay on Elba is the basis for the famous English language palindrome: "Able was I ere I saw Elba." It is the connection with Napoleon that Elba is best known for internationally. http://images.fotki.com/logo3.gif http://public.fotki.com/JohnVanHulst/go-johnny-go/spring-italy-2008/elba/ http://public.fotki.com/JohnVanHulst/go-johnny-go/spring-italy-2008/elba/mapelba.html Map of Elba
]]> http://images33.fotki.com/v1187/photos/1/178014/6252817/mapElba-th.jpg Mon, 19 May 2008 09:04:01 GMT