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"Leghorn" redirects here. For the breed of chicken, see Leghorn chicken. Livorno (archaic ) is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, having a population of 170,000 as of 2004.
History Livorno was defined as an "ideal town" during the Renaissance. Nowadays it reveals its history through its neighbourhoods, crossed by canals and surrounded by fortified town-walls, through the tangle of its streets, which embroider the town's Venice district, and through the Medici Port characteristically overlooked by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre. Designed by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti at the end of the 16th century, Livorno underwent a period of great town planning expansion at the end of the 17th century. Near the defensive pile of the Old Fortress, a new fortress, together with the town-walls and the system of navigable canals, was then built. Nowadays the Venice district preserves most of its original town planning and architectural features such as the bridges, the narrow lanes, the noblemen's houses and a dense network of canals which once linked the port to its storehouses. In the 18th and 19th centuries Livorno, by then grown up and open to the world, had a lively appearance marked by neo-classical buildings, town parks housing important museums and cultural institutions, Liberty villas with sea views, the market. Some Moriscos (Muslim Spaniards forcibly converted to Catholicism) moved from Spain to Livorno in 1700 century. Main sights The Museo Mascagnano houses memorabilia, documents and operas by the great composer Pietro Mascagni. Every year some of his operas are traditionally played during the lyric music season, which is organised by the Traditional Theatre of Livorno. Up in the hills the Sanctuary of Montenero, which is dedicated to Our Lady of the Graces, the patron saint of Tuscany, is a fixed destination for pilgrims. It is famous for the adjacent gallery, decorated with ex-voti mainly connected to stories of miraculous sea rescue. The "Monumento dei quattro mori" ("Monument of the Four Turks"), dedicated to Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany, is one of the most important monuments of Livorno. 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. There is a breed of chicken called leghorn, named after the city. This in turn gave its name to the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn. Sport Livorno has a football team in Serie A, A.S. Livorno Calcio. The football club reflects the left-leaning tendencies of the city with Livorno Calcio's left-wing ultras. Dialect Livorno inhabitants speak a colourful variant of the Tuscan dialect of Italy named vernacolo, which is especially characterized by the popular interjection dé. Twin cities Notable people Images Image:Livornoveneziavecchia0001.jpg|Venice district Image:Livorno FossoReale.JPG|Grand Canal Image:Livorno-Fortezzavecchia2.JPG|Old Fortress Image:Livorno-Fortezzanuova3.JPG|New Fortress Image:Livorno Duomo.JPG|Duomo of Livorno Image:Livornp-Sinagoga.JPG|Synagogue of Livorno Image:Livorno, Monumento dei quattro mori a Ferdinando II (1626) - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 13-4-2006 01.jpg|Monumento dei quattro mori Image:Livorno02.jpg|Piazza della Repubblica | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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