Livorno
:''"Leghorn" redirects here. For the breed of chicken, see
Leghorn chicken.
Livorno (archaic ) is a
port city on the
Tyrrhenian 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 170,000 as of 2004.
Livorno was defined as an "ideal town" during the
Renaissance. Nowadays it reveals its history through 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.
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, town parks housing important museums and cultural institutions, Liberty villas with sea views, 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.
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 II de' Medici of Tuscany, is one of the most important monuments of Livorno.
|
Fortifications of Livorno in the 17th century |
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.
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.
Livorno inhabitants speak a colourful variant of the
Tuscan dialect of Italy named
vernacolo, which is especially characterized by the popular interjection
dé.
*
Guadalajara (
Spain)
*
Mario Ancona (1860-1931), opera baritone
*
Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), painter
*
Giorgio Caproni (1912-1990), poet
*
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (born 1920), former President of the Republic of Italy
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Piero Ciampi (1934-1980), musician
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Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs during the fascist regime
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Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908), painter
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Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (1804-1873), writer and politician
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Cristiano Lucarelli (born 1975), football player
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Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), opera composer
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Matteo Mazzantini (born 1976), rugby player
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Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), painter and sculptor
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Aldo Montano (born 1978), fencer, Olympic gold medalist
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Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), financier and philanthropist in Britain
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Alfredo Muller (1869-1940), artist
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Armando Picchi (1935-1971), football player and manager
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Angiolo Tommasi (1858-1923), artist
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Alberto Fremura (born 1936), artist
Image:Livornoveneziavecchia0001.jpg|Venice districtImage:Livorno FossoReale.JPG|Grand CanalImage:Livorno-Fortezzavecchia2.JPG|Old FortressImage:Livorno-Fortezzanuova3.JPG|New FortressImage:Livorno Duomo.JPG|Duomo of LivornoImage:Livornp-Sinagoga.JPG|Synagogue of LivornoImage:Livorno, Monumento dei quattro mori a Ferdinando II (1626) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-4-2006 01.jpg|Monumento dei quattro moriImage:Livorno02.jpg|Piazza della Repubblica*
Municipal website *
Map of Livorno*
ItalianVisits.com*
Photographic map of Livorno 
