Port Visit: Livorno

The "new" fort at Livorono that is now a park inside

Early in the morning we arrived in Livorno, which is the main port for Tuscany. The town may only have a population of 180,000, but it’s Italy’s third-largest seaport. Livorno developed as a port under the control of the Republics of Pisa and Florence, the Duchies of the Medici and Lorensi, and since 1860 under a united Italy.

The piazza has a fountain with the town crest

In the 16^th and 17^th centuries, the Medici built many buildings, but many of them were destroyed in Allied bombing, and by the Germans who retreated northward in 1944.

We only spent a few hours in Livorno, as there wasn’t much to see – on Sunday practically the entire town seems to shut down. One of our first stops was Fortezza Nuova or “New Fort” to distinguish itself from the older fort near the water.

It isn’t well maintained, but walking around the area we soon realized it has been transformed into a park with grass patches and lots of trees – many people bring their dogs here for exercise, others come here to have chats with friends.

Near the fort by one of the canals, a local stopped us to show us large amounts of fish were swimming in the dirty water by the boats tied up. He made gestures to explain that he would never eat the fish because the water was filled with waste.

The beautiful exterior of the cathedral on Via Grande

On Via Grande we visited a cathedral that was constructed from 1581 until 1606. The ceiling was completely destroyed in the war, but was replaced with a decent copy of the murals on the ceiling. It’s a very beautiful church.

We saw a sign pointing to the Mercato Centrale100 metres away but when we got there it was obvious it was shut down today – it was like a ghost town. However, we noticed an interesting looking building nearby and discovered it was a synagogue.

It turns out at the end of the 15^th century a large Jewish community of traders began living in Livorno. The synagogue is modern looking, a sharp contrast to the church.

Inside the ceiling was rebuilt after World War II

In the Piazza Grande there’s a fountain – many piazzas have fountains – and people use them too. We saw a man take out his plastic bottle and fill it up with water from the fountain.

Unfortunately we missed Terrazza Mascagni, a walkway by the water that features black and white tiles like a chessboard. The area used to be the Fort of Cavalleggeri, but it was dismantled in 1872 and in 1925 made into a public space for strolling and concerts. After World War II it had to be rebuilt.

Also our shuttle bus passed by the Monumento dei Quatro Mori, or the monument of the four Moors. At the top is a statue of Ferdinand I of Tuscany, who built the fortress to protect Livorno from the invasion of pirates, Moors and Saracen.

The modern-looking synagogue

The statue is hardly politically correct these days, because below Ferdinand I’s feet are four Moors who are chained and crouching below him.  

Two of Florence's Basilicas

The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is so huge I can't take the whole thing!

There are so many things to see in Florence like the Uffizi, the Baptistry of St John, and Ponte Vecchio, but we only had time to see a few sights, like David in the Academia, but also the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, or Basilica of Saint Mary of the Flower, the main church in Florence. It is also known as Il Duomo.

Inside is austere and has plain pews

Construction of the basilica began in 1226 in the Gothic style and completed in 1436 with a very ornate exterior featuring white, red and green marble, that coincidentally are the colours of the Italian flag: green means hope, white is faith, and red is charity.

Inside however is very severe and restrained. Our guide explained that it looks bigger when empty and gives man the feeling he is insignificant and small. Nevertheless the importance of the city is indicated by the size of the church and this is the third-largest one in Florence.

It also has a dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, and the inside of the dome is decorated with frescoes of the last judgement which cover an area of 3,600 square metres, which is larger than a football field. It is considered the largest fresco in the world which took seven years and 15 painters to complete, led by Giorgio Vasari Federico Zuccari.

The front facade of Basilica di Santa Croce

They had to get up to the top of the dome and build a wooden scaffolding so that they could lie on them and paint. Talk about a precarious occupation... Basically at the bottom of the dome are images of hell, and heaven at the top.

After the September 11 attacks, the basilica was considered a target and the original pews were taken away and replaced with plain ones. We were told the original pews were beautiful but they were designed such that one could perhaps easily hide a bomb in them. Now there are some wooden pews and plastic chairs which don't quite match the grandeur of the cathedral...

Another wonderful place to visit is Basilica di Santa Croce, or Basilica of the Holy Cross, about 800 metres southeast of the Duomo.

Michelangelo's tomb with three women...

The basilica is best known for being the final resting place for many famous people, including artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, astronomer, physicist and philosopher Galileo, composer Gioachino Rossini, writer, politician and philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli, poet Dante Alighieri, as well as Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of long distance radio transmission.

Our guide pointed out to us that Michelangelo's tomb has three female statues, representing architecture, painting and sculpture, while Galileo only has two for astronomy and surveying; the church does not acknowledge him as a philosopher.

Santa Croce is like the Italian equivalent of Westminster Abbey, where many of the great (men) of Italy are laid to rest.

In the end we had a very short (and wet) visit to Florence... but perhaps that gives us a reason to come back again...

... while Galileo only has two...

Michelangelo's David Up Close

Visitors capturing a shot of David in Florence

On the day we planned to go to Florence, it was already raining in the wee hours, and we heard the rumbling of thunder, though no sharp cracks of lightning.

Nevertheless, we had to arm ourselves with raincoats and umbrellas for the day. We took the train there which took about 50 minutes and after we arrived our first order of the day was to go to the Galleria dell'Accademia, where we had tickets to go in between 10.15am and 10.30am.

An unfinished sculpture for the pope's tomb

After a short wait we were able to go inside, be subjected to a security check and then head straight for the room with Michelangelo's David inside.

But before that our guide told us a bit about the sculptor, painter and architect. He was born in Florence in 1475 and his family, the Buonarroti, were aristocratic, so Michelangelo had a good childhood and education.

At the age of 14 he recognized his calling to be an artist and practiced his craft until he died at the age of 89 which was very old in those days, where the average lifespan was about 50 or 60. He never married, nor had any children, which perhaps also explains his prolific output.

Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to work on the pope's tomb and wanted him to carve 40 statues in five years. This meant he had to work on each of them bit by bit. But then the pope changed his mind and decided Michelangelo should paint the Sistine Chapel even though painting -- or painting frescoes was not his forte. But when the pope orders you to do something -- akin to a king -- you do as you're told.

The Virgin Mary holding the body of Christ

So just before seeing David up close, visitors can see seven blocks of marble with various states of carving. Some the faces are barely made out, while a leg muscle is starting to be formed after chiseling and then polishing.

The guide told us it is said that if you are a good artist, your hand follows the mind, and in a block of marble, a person is waiting to be liberated by the artist.

It is also interesting to note Michelangelo lost his mother when he was around five or six years old. And so his portrayals of the Virgin Mary are more human than angelic with a halo over her head.

We finally got to the highlight of the Academia, the statue of David. He is made out of one giant block of Carrara marble and Michelangelo began working on it when he was 27 years old for two years. He did it all by himself, working from top to bottom.

David looking like he is ready to strike Goliath

It's pretty awe inspiring to look at, pretty much anatomically correct except for the extra large hands and feet. Nevertheless, you can see the veins and muscles, and the leather strap of the slingshot, signifying he looks ready to strike Goliath.

There is a tree trunk at the bottom of his right leg to support the statue, though it has some cultural significance, being an olive tree which represents peace. The enlarged hands may mean the importance of strong hands, the hands of a worker.

After the statue was completed, it was painstakingly transported from the Duomo to City Hall, carefully lining the path with carpet and the 11,000-pound statue was pulled by 50 men. It took 10 days to reach city hall where it stood outside for some 300 years.

It was then moved inside to where it stands now, while a replica stands in its place outside.

See the leather slingshot over David's back?

In 1991 a man attacked the statue with a hammer he had concealed in his jacket. He damaged the toes on the left foot before he was restrained. You can see the restorers have tried to do the best they can to patch it up, but we're just glad he's still in one big piece for everyone to admire.

Delicious Treats in Florence

Putting the pizzas together before going intp the wood-fired oven in Yellow Bar

Yesterday early morning we were woken up by loud rumbling of thunder and heavy rain. This did not bode well for our trip to Florence, but we bundled up, and armed with umbrellas we took the train from Montecatini Centro to Florence, which took about 50 minutes.

Inside the oven there are pizzas baking on the left

I'll write another post about Florence itself, but we were basically walking in the rain for most of the day which made it hard to take photos and hold our umbrellas at the same time.

By lunchtime our guide felt bad that the day hadn't turned out so well and suggested taking us to a little restaurant she usually goes to that makes fresh pizzas and pasta.

It's called Yellow Bar and it's homey inside, with wooden tables and chairs, an arch brick ceiling and in the back has a wood-burning oven.

Upon our guide's suggestion we ordered the ravioli a la pomodoro, which came out as large relatively flat ravioli, not completely stuffed with ricotta and spinach, and then smothered in a tomato sauce. The ratio of the filling and pasta was perfect -- and of course the tomato sauce very fresh.

A yellow-ish picture of our proscuitto cotto pizza. Yum!

We also had the proscuitto cotto pizza -- fantastic with the thin crust pizza and mozzarella cheese. The pizza was light and crunchy. And paired with a mixed salad was a nice and relatively light lunch.

By now the rain had stopped and sun was breaking which was encouraging.

While waiting for the washrooms in the back we watched the man making the pizzas, throwing the thin dough in the air, then covering them with tomato sauce, adding tiny bits of cheese, then other toppings, a good dash of olive oil and then using a giant spatula to put them into the oven.

About two minutes later the pizzas were basically done -- amazing.

We did a bit more sightseeing at Santa Croce and then it was gelato time. Again our guide introduced us to the best gelato place in Florence called Vivoli which was nearby.

Every spoonful savoured of fig and lemon gelato at Vivoli

And remember the ice cream with bits of ham in it that I tried in Greve the day before? The gelato was also from Vivoli.

But here's it's just the straight flavours, nothing too crazy. I had the same flavours as I did in San Gimignano -- fig and lemon -- and found Vivoli's far better.

The fig flavour was more intense, as well as the lemon for a more satisfying (and memorable) taste!

Yellow Bar

Via del Proconsolo, 39

50122, Florence
+39 055 211766

yellowbar.it

Vivoli

Via Dell'Isola delle Stinche, 7r

50122, Florence
+39 055 292334

vivoli.it

An Italian Spa Town

The Spa Excelsior has gorgeous ornate architecture

On Saturday night I took an evening flight on an Air France A380 and managed to sleep most of the way (though on and off) to arrive in Paris at 6am.

Another spa down the road to drink the water

Just to transfer flights we had to go through a massive line for security and then another for our passports. Then I waited for my parents and their friends to arrive from New York for our connecting flight to Florence at 10.10am.

And I waited and waited... and almost all the passengers had boarded when they finally arrived.

An hour and a half later we finally arrived in Florence and began our tour which took us to our hotel in Montecatini, an hour's drive.

The town only has a population of 22,000 and completely depends on tourism. During the high season up to 100,000 people will be in the town, which is famous for its spas.

As our guide pointed out, these aren't the spas that are about facials, massages and treatments, but the old school ones where people were diagnosed and drank spa water to cure their ailments.

A carousel for kids to have fun on a Sunday

Montecatini apparently has six different kinds of waters and a building with classic architecture -- libertarian as they call it -- is most probably a spa.

We were also told the water isn't like spring water and those who are advised to drink it may take some 10 minutes to sip it. And then they may be recommended to drink another kind of water before drinking the last one, which apparently has the same salination content as our bodies. The guide said drinking too much of the last one will have you peeing all day!

The town is also known for composer Giuseppe Verdi coming here in the summer, and apparently wrote some of his best operas here.

Everyone checking out the desserts at a sweet shop

It's very walkable and easy to navigate here, lots of shops and cafes. However, shops are closed during siestas, which run from about 1-ish to 4-ish -- the "ish" meaning whenever they feel like opening...