Livorno

Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy.

Location of Livorno in Italy

Flag

coat of arms

History

Today, Livorno is known for the fortified town walls and for the small streets. Many foreigners moved to Livorno such as Jews, Armenians, Greeks, Dutch, and English. Some Moriscos (Muslim Spaniards forced to turn Catholic), much later, also moved to Livorno (from Spain and during the 18th century).

Main monuments

Piazza Grande in the 18th century: at left, the Palazzo del Governatore, at right the Dogana

Bridges, houses and streets, mostly from the neo-classical era are in the district of Livorno.

Examples

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.

Fortifications of Livorno in the 17th century

Another important monument is the old fortress which has 3 bastions called “Capitana”, “Ampolletta” and “Canaviglia”. It was made before the Renaissance.

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.

Economy

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

Sport

Livorno has a football team in Serie A, A.S. Livorno Calcio.

Languages

Livorno inhabitants speak a Tuscan dialect of Italian, called vernacolo.

Climate

Livorno has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa in the Koeppen climate classification).

Sister cities

• Bat Yam (Israel)
• Guadalajara (Spain)
• Haiphong (Vietnam)
• Novorossiysk (Russia)
• Oakland (United States of America)

Important people from Livorno

• Mario Ancona (1860-1931), opera composer
• Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), painter
• Giorgio Caproni (1912-1990), poet
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (born 1920), former President of the Republic of Italy
• Piero Ciampi (1934-1980), musician
• Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908), painter
• Voltolino Fontani (1920-1976), 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
• 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
• Alberto Fremura (born 1936), artist
• Francis Levett English merchant

Other websites

• Municipal website (in Italian)
• ItalianVisits.com Archived 2007-08-21 at the Wayback Machine
• Photographic map of Livorno (in Italian and English)