The Palazzina dei Mulini — the "little palace of the mills" — sits on the highest ground between Forte Falcone and Forte Stella, where the city's windmills had stood. Napoleon had it converted into his official residence almost as soon as he arrived in May 1814, doubling its size and adding the Italian garden that still runs along the seaward side. The result is more substantial than the name suggests: two storeys, a central salon, his small library, a bedroom, a billiard room, and a long terrace looking out to the mainland.
The interior preserves the original furniture, several of his books, the Imperial bed brought from Fontainebleau, and a number of busts and portraits. The walls of the salon and his bedroom carry frescoes by Vincenzo Antonio Revelli celebrating Napoleon's Egyptian campaign — the Mamluks, the Sphinx, scenes of the Nile — which he had specifically commissioned. The garden is beautifully placed: terraced down to the cliff edge, the harbour visible past the holm oaks, the sea breeze constant.
This is the finest Napoleonic site on Elba and a remarkable survival. A combined ticket covers the Villa di San Martino a few kilometres inland and the two Medici forts. Allow about 90 minutes here.