Livorno

Livorno is one of the most vibrant maritime cities in Tuscany. Originally a village on the edge of the ancient and now deserted Pisan port, the town later came under Visconti and Genoese domination before being acquired by Florence in the 15th century. Livorno underwent major developments when Cosimo I de' Medici decided to make it the main port of the Grand Duchy. The renovation project was entrusted to none other than Buontalenti, to whom we owe the configuration of the historic centre as a fortified city and the construction of the New Fortress, which was built a short distance from the Old Fortress of the Pisan era. Unfortunately, Livorno experienced heavy bombing during World War II, which resulted in very little of the central core being spared. Post-war reconstruction significantly changed the appearance of the old city despite efforts to preserve the aesthetic value of the 18th-century district of Venezia Nuova, which today can be considered the "true" historic centre. The district's name comes from its canals, which connect it to the port and make it resemble a small Venice.

The city experienced great artistic and cultural activity between the 19th and 20th centuries, being the birthplace of the likes of Pietro Mascagni, Giovanni Fattori, Amedeo Modigliani and Leonetto Cappiello, to name but a few.

Livorno is now a popular tourist destination, mainly due to the many beaches of the Costa degli Etruschi that meander southwards from the city. There are also many city attractions, including the Mascagni Terrace, the seventeenth-century cathedral of St Francis and the baroque church of St Catherine.