Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
In 1608 Livorno was declared
a free port, open to all traders,
regardless of religion or race.
People fleeing wars or reli-
gious persecution, including
Jews, Protestants and Greeks,
settled here and contributed
greatly to the city's success.
P
Piazza Micheli
The piazza, with its views of
the 16th-century Fortezza
Vecchia, contains Livorno's
best-known monument: the
Monumento dei Quattro Mori.
Bandini's bronze figure of
Duke Ferdinand I dates to
1595; but Pietro Tacca's four
Moorish slaves, also cast in
bronze, were not added until
1626. Naked and manacled,
the dejected slaves are a stark
reminder that Livorno once
had a thriving slave market.
P
Piazza Grande
When the architect Buon-
talenti planned the new city
of Livorno in 1576, he
envisaged the huge Piazza
Grande at the heart of a
network of wide avenues.
The square's original appear-
ance has, however, been lost.
This is partly due to contro-
versial post-war rebuilding,
which cut the square into two
halves: the present Piazza
Grande, to the south, and the
Largo Municipio, to the north.
The 18th-century Certosa di Pisa
Certosa di Pisa
5
Road map
C2 (località Calci).
@
from Pisa.
Tel
050 93 84 30.
8:30am-6:30pm Tue-Sat; 8:30am-
12:30pm Sun (adm half past the hour;
last adm: 1 hour before closing).
#
&
This Carthusian monastery
was founded in 1366
and rebuilt during the 18th
century. The splendid church
is lavishly decorated, and
some buildings form the
University of Pisa's
Museo
di Storia Naturale
. Exhibits
include 16th-century
anatomical wax models.
Nearby is the
Pieve di Calci
,
a fine 11th-century Roman-
esque church. The unfinished
campanile is alongside.
E
R
Duomo
Piazza Grande
.
daily.
A prominent victim of
Livorno's wartime bombing
was the late 16th-century
cathedral by Pieroni and
Cantagallina. It was rebuilt
in 1959, retaining the original
entrance portico, with its
Doric arcades.
The original building
was designed by Inigo
Jones, who served
his apprenticeship
under the architect
Buontalenti. Jones
later used an almost
identical design for
the arcades of his
Covent Garden
piazza in London.
#
Venezia Nuova canals
P
Venezia Nuova
Originally laid out in the
middle of the 17th century,
this area, which includes
the 18th-century
octagonal church of
Santa Caterina, is
spread between a
handful of canals,
reminiscent of
Venetian waterways.
Although it only
covers a few blocks,
Venezia Nuova is
one of the city's
most scenic areas.
Museo di Storia Naturale
Certosa di Pisa.
Tel
050 221 29
70.
#
mid-Sep-mid-Jun: 9am-
6pm Tue-Sat, 10am-7pm Sun;
mid-Jun-mid-Sep: 10am-7pm
Tue-Sat, 10am-8pm Sun.
¢
public hols.
&
7
partial.
R
Pieve di Calci
Piazza della Propositura, Calci.
#
daily.
7
Livorno
6
Road map
B3
.
*
168,370.
V @ g n
Piazza Cavour 6.
(0586 20 46 11).
(
The fact that Livorno is now
a bustling city, Italy's second
busiest container port, is
thanks to Cosimo I. In 1571
he chose Livorno, then a tiny
fishing village, as the site for
Tuscany's new port after Pisa's
harbour silted up. From
1607-21 the English marine
engineer Sir Robert Dudley
built the great sea wall that
protects the harbour.
Monumento dei Quattro Mori
by Bandini and Tacca in Piazza Micheli
