Livorno Totally Explained

Everything about Livorno totally explained

ť "Leghorn" redirects here. For the breed of chicken, see Leghorn chicken.

Livorno (also in ) is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, having a population of approximately one-hundred and seventy thousand residents as of the year 2004.

History

Livorno was defined as an "ideal town" during the Italian Renaissance. Today, it reveals its history through the structure of its neighbourhoods, crossed by canals and surrounded by fortified town walls, through the tangle of its streets, which embroider the town's Venice district, and through the Medici Port characteristically overlooked by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre. Designed by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti at the end of the 16th century, Livorno underwent a period of great town planning expansion at the end of the 17th century. Near the defensive pile of the Old Fortress, a new fortress, together with the town-walls and the system of navigable canals, was then built.
In the late 1580s, Ferdinando I de Medici declared Livorno a "porto Franco", which meant that the goods traded here were duty free. The "Leggi Livornine" were laws which ruled between 1590 and 1603. These laws helped the trading activities of the merchant, freedom of religion and amnesty for some penance. Thanks to these laws, Livorno became a cosmopolitan city and one of the most important ports of the entire Mediterranean area. Many foreigners moved to Livorno; Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Dutch, and English were among those who relocated to live and trade. Some Moriscos (Muslim Spaniards forcibly converted to Catholicism), much later, also moved to Livorno (from Spain and during the 18th century).
During the Napoleonic Wars, trade with England was prohibited and the economy of Livorno suffered greatly. Then, in 1868, after Livorno became part of the new Kingdom of Italy, she lost her, by now, traditional status of “Porto Franco” and the city's importance declined.

Main sights

Nowadays the Venice district preserves most of its original town planning and architectural features such as the bridges, the narrow lanes, the noblemen's houses and a dense network of canals which once linked the port to its storehouses. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Livorno, by then grown up and open to the world, had a lively appearance marked by neo-classical buildings, public parks housing important museums and cultural institutions, "Liberty" villas with sea views and the market.
   The Museo Mascagnano houses memorabilia, documents and operas by the great composer Pietro Mascagni. Every year some of his operas are traditionally played during the lyric music season, which is organised by the Traditional Theatre of Livorno. Also the “Terrazza Mascagni”, a walkway divided from the sea by a handrail, is named in honor to Pietro Mascagni.
   Up in the hills the Sanctuary of Montenero, which is dedicated to Our Lady of the Graces, the patron saint of Tuscany, is a fixed destination for pilgrims. It is famous for the adjacent gallery, decorated with ex-voti mainly connected to stories of miraculous sea rescue.
   The "Monumento dei quattro mori" ("Monument of the Four Turks"), dedicated to Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici of Tuscany, is one of the most important monuments of Livorno.
   In Livorno there's an important square called "Piazza della Repubblica" that contains two important monuments of Italian politicians. Thus, this square is also a bridge: in fact, under the bridge there's an old, big canal. Piazza della Repubblica is the largest bridge of Europe.
   Another important monument is the old fortress; an old building made with red bricks that at the time of Medici defended the city from pirates attacks. It has 3 bastion, named “Capitana”, “Ampolletta” and “Canaviglia”. The old fortress was made before the Renaissance. The new Fortress, distinct from the old one, was made at the end of the 16th century.
   There are some graveyards where foreign people who moved to Livorno used to be buried.

Culture

Politically, Livorno is one of the most left-leaning cities of Italy. The Communist Party of Italy was founded in Livorno on 21 January 1921.
There is a breed of chicken called leghorn, named after the city. This in turn gave its name to the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.

Economy

Tuaca liqueur is produced in Livorno. The city also has a substantial petrochemical industry.

Sport

Livorno has a football team in Serie A, A.S. Livorno Calcio. The football club reflects the left-leaning tendencies of the city with Livorno Calcio's left-wing ultras.

Dialect

Livorno inhabitants speak a colourful variant of the Tuscan dialect of Italy named vernacolo, which is especially characterized by the popular interjection dé, which has a very wide range of meanings, usually recognizable only by the tone of the pronunciation, and a tourist is soon discovered if they pronounce the word as dè, because it isn't the correct pronunciation.
There is a satirical comic/magazine written mainly in the Livornese dialect called Il Vernacoliere.

Sister cities

Notable people

Mario Ancona (1860-1931), opera baritone

Chaim Joseph David Azulai (1724-1807), prolific Rabbinic scholar

Andrea Baldini (born 1985), fencer, double World Championship silver medallist

Elijah Benamozegh (1822-1900), rabbi and scholar of Cabala

Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), painter

Giorgio Caproni (1912-1990), poet

David Castelli (1836-1901), Jewish Biblical scholar

Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (born 1920), former President of the Republic of Italy

Piero Ciampi (1934-1980), musician

Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs during the fascist regime

Vittorio Matteo Corcos (1859-1933), painter

Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908), painter

Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (1804-1873), writer and politician

Cristiano Lucarelli (born 1975), football player

Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), opera composer

Matteo Mazzantini (born 1976), rugby player

Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), painter and sculptor

Aldo Montano (born 1978), fencer, Olympic gold medalist

Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), financier and philanthropist in Britain

Sabato Morais (1823-1897), rabbi in Philadelphia, USA, and founder of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City

Alfredo Muller (1869-1940), artist

Armando Picchi (1935-1971), football player and manager

Dario Resta (1884-1924), Racecar driver, Indy 500 winner

Angiolo Tommasi (1858-1923), artist

Samuel Uziel (Seventeenth century), rabbi and Talmudist

Alberto Fremura (born 1936), artist

Francis Levett, English merchant

Points of interest

Museo di Storia Naturale del Mediterraneo

Orto Botanico del Mediterraneo

Cisternoni of Livorno

Images

Image:Livornoveneziavecchia0001.jpg|Venice district Image:Livorno FossoReale.JPG|Grand Canal Image:Livorno-Fortezzavecchia2.JPG|Old Fortress Image:Livorno-Fortezzanuova3.JPG|New Fortress Image:Livorno Duomo.JPG|Duomo of Livorno Image:Castello Sonnino.jpg|Castle of Baron Sidney Sonnino Image:Livorno, Monumento dei quattro mori a Ferdinando II (1626) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-4-2006 01.jpg|Monumento dei Quattro Mori Image:Livorno02.jpg|Piazza della Repubblica Further Information

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