Legends and curiosities of the Island of Elba
5 min · 30 May 2023

The Island of Elba is a sort of earthly paradise that preserves a natural and scenic heritage that is more unique than rare, but also a place rich in popular traditions, timeless legends linked to the area, and fascinating curiosities that only a few people know about.
Are you ready? Follow us on this journey to discover the legends and curiosities of the Island of Elba.
The myth of the Argonauts
One of the main legends concerning the island of Elba is certainly that of the Argonauts. Along the northern coast of the island, a stone’s throw from the historic centre of Portoferraio, is the beautiful Ghiaie beach, a thin stretch of white pebbles mottled with black. In the 1st century B.C., the historian Diodorus Siculus narrated that the Argonauts, sailing the sea in search of the Golden Fleece, reached an island called Aethalia where they founded a small harbour for their ships, which they called Argon. According to legend, this island was actually the Island of Elba and the harbour was the Ghiaie beach. The myth still says that the characteristic dark stains on the pebbles are nothing more than the traces of the sweat of the heroic sailors who landed there.
The legend of the Innamorata
Another famous legend is linked to the splendid Innamorata beach in Capoliveri, set in an extraordinary landscape characterised by the nearby Gemini islands. The protagonists of this old story, at the time of the barbarian raids, are two young lovers, Maria and Lorenzo, whose love was, however, hindered by their respective families. According to legend, in 1534, Maria, in despair at the killing of her beloved Lorenzo by Barbarossa’s pirates, took her own life by throwing herself into the sea. Only her shawl was found entangled on a rock, which has been called ‘Scoglio della Ciarpa’ ever since. Even today, every year on 14 July, this unfortunate love story is commemorated with an evocative torchlight procession on the Innamorata beach.
The treasure of Porto Azzurro
The history of the Island of Elba is marked by the discovery of real treasures and the incessant search for legendary ones, as in the case of the treasure of Porto Azzurro. Legend has it that on the night of 17 June 1841, the Spanish ship called the ‘Pollux’, laden with precious objects and works of art that Ferdinand IV, King of Naples, wanted to secure, sank in the harbour of Porto Azzurro, rammed by another vessel. Since then, there has been a succession of tales of astonishing sunken wonders and failed attempts to recover them because so far nothing has been found. Even today, the inhabitants of Porto Azzurro live with the hope of finding this priceless treasure hidden in the depths of the Tuscan Archipelago.
The legend of the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte
On the slopes of Monte Giove, near Marciana, is the Sanctuary of the Madonna del Monte, the oldest and most famous on the island, already attested in the 14th century as Sancta Maria de Monte. Known for having hosted Napoleon Bonaparte and his charming Polish lover Maria Walewska in 1814, the building houses a precious painting, made on a block of granite and depicting the Madonna assumed into Heaven, which, according to legend, was found by some people from Marciana on the very spot where the sanctuary stands today. They took it further down the valley to keep it in the new church that was to be built at Campo al Castagno, but miraculously it had disappeared the next day. It was later found again in the same place where it was found.
The flag of the Island of Elba
Finally, we conclude this small collection of tales between truth and legend of the Island of Elba with a curiosity. A large number of flags have flown over its soil over the centuries, but the current one, white with a red transverse stripe on which three golden bees stand out, was hoisted by Napoleon at the highest point in Portoferraio on 4 May 1814, the day of his landing on the island. The meaning of the flag has been and continues to be a matter of debate. According to the most accredited hypothesis, the Emperor chose the golden bees to recall the unity and industriousness of the people of Elba. The original flag is currently kept in the Palazzina dei Mulini, which, together with the Villa San Martino, houses the National Museum of Napoleonic Residences.


