Most people don’t know, but there are many products made in Elba: fashion, watches, perfumes and much more… A foretaste of shopping in Portoferraio.
Walking through the sunny quays of Portoferraio that run along the sea, you can breathe salt air and feel the authenticity and stillness of this city. It is not about the usual tourist walk, where you can only see mainstream souvenirs and beach products shops.
The waterfront dock turns completely into a pedestrian area at night, so that you can enjoy your walk all the more. You will find plenty of colorful buildings overlooking the marina blue waters, where seagulls rest and boats are moored. Each of them houses an authentic workshop, where you can discover craft products and typical tastes of Elba.
Walk around the shops, experience their perfumes and colours, with one eye to the seascape and the other to the fortresses that have stood watch over the city for centuries. Here you will find the most genuine Elba.
From “Locman” watches – made in Elba – representing the perfect fusion of Italian style, Tuscan watchmaking traditions, and new production technologies, to “Dampaì” original bags, designed by Simona Giovannetti and created with different materials. From “Tonnina” delicacies – such as the amazing classic style tuna in oil, that you can taste while admiring the colorful accessories of its boutique, to Elba typical products of “Calata Mazzini”. These last include wine, extra virgin olive oil, pasta and the typical “Schiaccia Briaca”, ancient dessert prepared with flour, nuts, currants and a splash of Aleatico and Alchermes, that was originally given to those going to sea.
At Fiorella’s shop you will find high quality craft-trade leather goods and, if you are a passionate reader, you can get yourself inebriated by the smell of books inside two lovely bookshops, the “Libreria Stragata” and the “Mar di Libri”, that also organize some interesting events such as readings.
And if shopping in the sun makes you thirsty, enjoy an intense “Birra dell’Elba”, an unfiltered beer with traditional taste, or the excellent “Biretta elbana”, a pale beer produced with Schiopparello wheat by the local farmhouse “Due Palme”. You can find them at “La Tonnina” bar, “Forte Falcone” bar and all shops selling typical products, such as “Da Ruggeri” and “Calata Mazzini”.
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The Dome of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The main place of worship dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, established by Cosimo I in the sixteenth century
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The Church of “Santissimo Sacramento”
The essence of Elba Baroque, hidden behind a neoclassical and rigorous facade.
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Bastioni Medicei
The town’s defences were gradually reinforced from 1570 onwards, even under the direction of Bernardo Buontalenti, and were used to provide accommodation for the armed forces as well as important look-out posts.
