Elba
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Elba
(ĕl`bä), island, 86 sq mi (223 sq km), Tuscany, central Italy, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, 6 mi (9.7 km) from the Italian mainland, part of the Tuscan Archipelago. Iron ore has been mined there since Etruscan and Roman times, and there are ironworks at PortoferraioPortoferraio, town (1991 pop. 11,042), Tuscany, Italy, on the north coast of Elba Island. The principal port of Elba, it handles most of the iron shipped from the island. It is also a seaside resort. The town was strongly fortified (16th–18th cent.) by the Medici.
..... Click the link for more information. , the island's main town. Wine, olive oil, and fruit are also produced, and there is a large tourist industry. Elba has come under numerous foreign powers, including Syracuse (mid-5th cent. B.C.), Pisa (11th cent. A.D.–A.D. 1399), Spain, and Naples. It was briefly (May, 1814–Feb., 1815) a sovereign principality under the exiled Napoleon I, who improved the island's roads and agriculture. After Napoleon's dramatic escape from Elba and his subsequent exile to Saint Helena Island, Elba passed to Tuscany.
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The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Elba
an island belonging to Italy in the Mediterranean Sea, in the Tuscan Archipelago; separated from the Apennine Peninsula by the Piombino Channel (12 km wide). Area, 223 sq km. Population, 28,800 (1971). Elba has numerous bays. The island is composed mainly of granites, and elevations reach 1,019 m. Olives, figs, and grapes are cultivated. The chief port of the island is Portoferraio. Napoleon I’s first exile, which lasted from May 4, 1814, to Feb. 26, 1815, was spent on Elba.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Elba
site of Napoleon’s first exile (1814). [Fr. Hist.: NCE, 854]
See: Banishment
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Elba
a mountainous island off the W coast of Italy, in the Mediterranean: Napoleon Bonaparte's first place of exile (1814--15). Pop.: 27 722 (1991 est.). Area: 223 sq. km (86 sq. miles)
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005