The municipality of Porto Azzurro is in the Island of Elba and it has almost 3000 inhabitants. It has quite recent origins in comparison to those of the adjoining municipalities. The St. Giacomo's Fortress, the Madonna del Monserrato' Sanctuary and the Spanish church can be admired here.

The origin of this municipality is linked to the arrival of the Spanish on the Island of Elba, where they garrisoned the northeast area for many years.
This area corresponded to the Garrison State between Talamone and Orbetello, which controlled the sea from the opposite side. The main aim was to dominate a wide portion of the Tyrrhenian Sea of the southern part of Tuscany, to protect the passage of their ships into their territories in southern Italy.
In 1602, the king of Spain Philip III commissioned the architect Garcia di Toledo the building of a fortress on the pattern of the fortified citadels against the pirates' incursions and it constituted the original unit of the existing village.
This is how the Fortress of Longone was born together with the dock. Here the Spanish galleys could moor for supplies without worrying about the traps of corsairs and of the vessels of the Tuscan Grand Duchy.
The French conquered the castle in 1646 after a long siege and it was taken back by the Spanish monarchy four years later.
In 1714, Longone officially entered the Kingdom of Naples and it became a property of its sovereigns, the Bourbons, until the new arrival of the French. In that occasion, in 1801, Naples was obliged to yield the fortress by Napoleon's revolutionary army, that had already occupied the territories of the Tuscan Grand Duchy.
After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, Longone was given back to the Tuscan Grand Duchy and it eventually entered the Kingdom of Italy in 1860.
In 1863, Longone changed its name into Porto Longone for the first time. Its current name, Porto Azzurro, was adopted in 1947.
Given its position, this municipality became the most important port and mooring post for the ferries going from the Italian peninsula to the Island of Elba and its economy, once mainly based upon fishing and farming, is now focused on seaside tourism.