Duomo di Portoferraio (Chiesa della Natività della Beata Vergine Maria)

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the principal church of Portoferraio. Begun as part of Cosimo I's fortified town in the mid-sixteenth century, it preserves later artworks and furnishings linked to the island's maritime and religious history.

Why it matters

The church was consecrated in 1554 as part of the new settlement of Cosmopoli. Its history reflects successive periods of Medici, Lorraine and French rule, as well as its continuing place in Portoferraio's religious life.

What to notice

The interior developed from a single-nave church into a three-aisled plan. The marble high altar was moved from the former church of the Carmine. The eighteenth-century altar of the Madonna del Buon Viaggio includes a painting with a silver votive ship, while a wooden crucifix dated to 1549 is associated with the Confraternity of the Misericordia, founded in 1566.

Context and history

The church was consecrated in 1554 and later enlarged with side chapels in 1623. These were opened into aisles in the early nineteenth century. On 4 May 1814, a Te Deum was celebrated here in Napoleon's presence shortly after his arrival on Elba. The diocese designated it a Jubilee church for the 2025 Holy Year.