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| 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.
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| The piazza has a fountain with the town crest |
In
the 16th and 17th 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.
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| 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 15th century a large Jewish community of
traders began living in Livorno. The synagogue is modern looking, a sharp
contrast to the church.
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| 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.
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| 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.
