Galleria Demidoff / Demidov Gallery

 Italy > Tuscany > Livorno > Portoferraio

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This palace is often confused with the villa where the disgraced emperor lived - a modest old mansion is visible in the background. And this is the so-called "Demidoff Gallery". Anatoly Nikolaevich Demidov, being a passionate admirer of Napoleon, acquired in 1851 a villa of Bonaparte. Florentine architect Nicola Matas built an extension to the main building in the neoclassical style. Demidov filled it with memorabilia and works of art. He also allocated a large sum of money to the churches in Portoferraio, wishing that every year on May 5, the day of Napoleon's death, a solemn mass would be served. This tradition is still preserved. The heir to the villa, Pavel Pavlovich, did not consider it necessary to maintain the estate and sold it. Since 1930, the entire complex has been under the jurisdiction of the Italian authorities.