Today I’m going to tell you about another city in Tuscany, less famous than Firenze, but really interesting from a touristic point of view: Livorno.
That’s the city where I was born! I moved to Florence when I was 20 but my family still lives in Livorno and I often go back to my beautiful natal city.
Livorno is on the coast known as the Etruscan Coast, about 90 kilometres from Firenze, from which you can easily reach by train or car in about 1 hour and half. It’s just 20 kilometres far from Pisa, and the two cities are kind of enemies from centuries.

Livorno was a small port and village until Ferdinando I de’ Medici decided to found here a new city, an ideal perfect city according to the renaissance theories. Soon Livorno became the main port of Tuscany, and people from all over the world came here: merchants, sailors, exiled and refugees for political or religious reasons. That’s because Ferdinando I enacted a law that opened up the city to everyone who wanted to live and work here, no matter their nationality, religion or if they where exiled from other countries.
Livorno became a melting pot of cultures, religions and thoughts. Jews were not contained into a ghetto, indeed they were powerful, rich and attained important political positions. Other communities living in Livorno came from Greece, Germany, France, Netherlands, England, Armenia, Eastern Europe, Asia and Muslim Countries, each one free to establish its own church, cemetery and schools. Still today the city is very opened to the difference (in culture, art, politic and society) and tolerance and respect are very important values.

The city is rich in history and architecture, as you can see from my pictures, from late renaissance to baroque, then neo-classicism and even some exquisite art nouveau buldings. The historical neighbourhood of Venezia Nuova (“New Venice”) was built in the early 1600 and is very characteristic, thanks to its water canals that surround small islands and that were used to transport goods from the port to the storehouses placed in the lower level of the palaces.
Plus there’s a beautiful long waterside with sidewalks, gardens and a wonderful terrace on the sea.
At the south edge of the city starts a wonderful panoramic road, il Romito, that runs on the top of an impressive cliff that falls down in the sea; here you can find one of the most fascinating and wild places to enjoy the sea. Not sandy beaches, but colourful rocks, crystal waters and lots of sealife to admire while snorkelling.

Don’t forget the pleasure of tasting the local cuisine, made of fresh seafood that reflects the multi-cultural influences of the city, and that is considered the best in Tuscany and one of the best in Italy. The local dishes are made with the “poor” fish, those species of fishes that could not be sold at the market and ended in the fisherman’s pan. Less noble but cheaper and super-tasty!!!

I highly recommend you to visit Livorno, discover the fascinating story of the city, enjoy the beautiful sea, and taste one of the best Italian sea cuisine!

that's my dog at Terrazza Mascagni, an amazing terrace on the sea one of the canals in Venezia Nuova the church of santa Caterina reflecting in the water surface of the canal (Venezia Nuova) la Fortezza Nuova (ancient fortress) in the Medicean port of Livorno the rocky cliffs and crystal water of Romito

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This Medici villa is located in the nearbies of Florence, in the Mugello region, a wonderful corner of quiet tuscan countryside.
Villa del Trebbio is really ancient, but in 1428 Cosimo de’ Medici completely renovated and enlarged it; the architect is Michelozzo (the same of Cafaggiolo and Palazzo Medici).
This villa was surrounded by forests and agricultural estate, and even if it looks like a fortified castle, it was a place of pleasure and rest for the Medici family. Today the castle is surrounded by a beautiful cypress wood with more than one century old trees.
Unfortunately today this villa is private, and visits can be booked just in some special occasions.

You can see the tour of my daytrip in Mugello in this post!

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Last week I decided to spend a Sunday in Mugello, a wonderful corner of tuscan countryside, rich in nature, art and history, just a few kilometres away from Florence.
Mugello was dominated by Etruscan first, then by Romans. In the middle ages was territory of the Guidi and Ubaldini families, whose fought Florence. Then from 1300 the Mugello became an important area for Florence, because of its strategic and economic importance.
Several important buildings and fortresses, castles, villas, monasteries and palaces still bear witness to this important period of growth in Mugello. In fact, even the artistic and cultural history of Florence owes much of its development to Mugello: artists such as Giotto and Beato Angelico were born here; important architects worked on the construction of the castles and moreover, the Mugello landscape has provided inspiration for numerous Florentine paintings.

I decided to follow the “Medici Route”, discovering the places where the Medici family lived nad ruled.
The tour starts in Scarperia, which was founded by the town of Florence at the beginning of the 14th century, and still conserves the impressive Palazzo dei Vicari, which was built in the same period but has undergone numerous transformations and restorations throughout the centuries. Palazzo Vicari houses the Museo dei Ferri Taglienti - antique and modern cutlery – as Scarperia is well known for knife handcrafts.
From Scarperia move to the small town of Sant’Agata, where there is a beautiful Romanesque church, the most famous sacred structure in Mugello.
Then visit the Bosco ai Frati Convent, which was built according to Michelozzo’s design, by order of Cosimo dé Medici. Inside, you find the splendid Crucifix by Donatello ( opened only on Saturday and Sunday morning because friars still live here).
Heading towards San Piero a Sieve, you find Villa Medicea of Cafaggiolo, one of the favourite residences of Lorenzo the Magnificent, and a splendid example of Renaissance architecture (visits must be booked). Not far away, towering above you, surrounded by century old cypress trees, you can admire the Trebbio Castle: another magnificent Medici construction (private, visits only in special days).

In the next post I’ll let you know all those wonderful places!

Here's a small useful map of Mugello!

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Piazza della Signoria is an square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. Infact it was named after the Palazzo della Signoria, also called Palazzo Vecchio.
Piazza della Signoria is the heart and the core of origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and today it still maintains its role as the political hub of the city.

Palazzo Vecchio stands proud in the square and give it its uncommon L-shape. Beside Palazzo Vecchio there's the Fountain of Nettuno (read this post about the Neptune fountain!) and a statue of Cosimo I de' Medici.

In front of the Neptune a marble placque remembers the exact place where Girolamo Savonarola was hanged and burned in 1498.

Just on the right of Palazzo Vecchio there's the Loggia dei Lanzi o Loggia della Signoria, whit several important marble sculptures, like il Ratto delle Sabine by Giambologna and the Perseo by Cellini.

palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dei Lanzi

palazzo Vecchio

fountain of Nettuno (Neptune)

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The fountain of Neptune is the first public fountain in Florence, it was completed in 1575 and rise in piazza della Signoria, (read this post about Piazza della Signoria!) just in front of Palazzo Vecchio, in the heart of the public life of Florence.
Some years before, Cosimo I de’ Medici assigned the work to Bartolomeo Ammannati, who realized a big representation of the Florentines dominion over the sea (Cosimo had just founded the seaport of Livorno).


The statue is made of whie Carrara marble and it’ quite big, so the Florentines call him “il Biancone”, that means “the big white”. Under Neptune there are his horses, and then a lot of more bronze statues representing sea gods, satyrs, and marine creatures.
During the years this fountain had bad luck: Florentines never liked it too much, it had been used as a basin for laundry, a satyr had been stolen during 1830 carnival, and had been damaged and vandalized several times.

But Biancone still resist!

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Calcio Fiorentino is an early form of football that originated in 16th century in Florence, Italy. Today Calcio Fiorentino is still played in Florence. The matches used to take place in Piazza Santa Croce, and still do, every third week of June.

In this game are used both feet and hands, it’s a kind of mix between soccer, rugby and Greco-roman wrestling. Goals can be scored by throwing the ball over a designated spot on the perimeter of the field. The playing field is a giant sand pit with a goal running the width of each end.

Four historical neighbourhoods of the city, represented from their main church and a colour (Santa Croce is blue, San Giovanni is green, Santo Spirito is white, and Santa Maria Novella is red), fight against each other to win.
The modern version allows tactics such as head-butting, punching, elbowing, and choking, but forbids sucker-punching and kicks to the head.

It’s a very violent sport but also spectacular, especially because of the pre-game parade with historically accurate Renaissance costumes, and sure, for the fights!!!
If you’re going to visit Florence in late June don’t miss the Calcio Fiorentino Match!

the historical parade before the matches

fights!

the play ground in Piazza Santa Croce

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In the ancient times this square was the center of the roman city, the place where cardo and decumanus intersect. Now a column rise in this exact point to remember the past, and it’s called Colonna dell’Abbondanza (column of abundance).
From the year 1000 this square hosted the old city market.

The present appearance of Piazza della Repubblica is the result of the city planning done after the proclamation of Florence as the capital of Italy (1865-71). In this years large parts of the city centre were demolished to create the large squares and streets that a capital needed.

The decision to enlarge the square needed the destruction of several historical important buildings: medieval towers, churches, the corporate seats of the Arti, palaces, craftsmen's shops and thousand of houses.
The demolition was presented as a necessity, as the area's insanitary conditions were to be improved, but was in reality led above all to building speculation and to legitimization of the will of the emerging middle-class, protagonist in the events that bring Italy to unification.

The big arch in Piazza della Repubblica, called Arcone, remember with an inscription the huge demolition of the 19th century:

L’antico centro della città
Da secolare squallore
A vita nuova restituito

"The ancient centre of the city

restored from age-old squalor

to new life"

Colonna dell'Abbondanza, the exact place where cardo and decumanus used to meet in the roman city of Florence

the old carousel in Piazza della Repubblica

the big arch, with the commemorative inscription, called "Arcone"

the big arch of Piazza della Repubblica from the back

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