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This beautiful building next to the Fish market is one of the oldest in Livorno. If my Italian was a bit better than simply lousy I could perhaps understand what it was used for, but I’m quite sure it has something to do with grains. Granary or office for grain trading.
On this sunny day the building looked fabulous with it’s new crisp plaster in a stunning yellow colour. I just wondered why the plaster was already falling off… Such a shame.
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So. A question for you. Can you spot what these photos have in common?
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Yes, it’s the odd looking dome of Saint Catherine of Venice. The church of Santa Caterina in the Livorno Venezia area. Its octagonal blunt tower can be seen seen from many places around town.
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It sits next to the Fortezza Nuova which is a fortress surrounded by a moat. The moat branches out into canals which seek their way out to the harbour. What could be a more appropriate name than Venice for this part of town that fills the space between the canals?
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Santa Caterina was finished in the 1750’s although the facade was never completed. The Dominican monastery, to which the church was built, was later dissolved and its buildings were used as a prison up until the late 1900’s.
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The interior of the church is a bit surprising. Light and airy and very baroque, and suddenly the lantern and the rugged cupola make a lot of sense.
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The frescoes of the dome make it look quite stunning.
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And of course, Saint Catherine of Venice is no other than Saint Catherine of Siena.
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A very special church in a very special setting. And with a very special name for me, since it is also my name. Without the Saint đŸ˜‰
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The endless variations of sea level, skies and weather.
And however lovely and pleasant the summery clouds and low water –
this is what I would really love to witness:
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To die for. And don’t forget to turn up the sound. Mascagni’s beautiful music from Cavalleria Rusticana.
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The beautiful lamp posts.
…and I believe I managed to catch the Amerigo Vespucci masts in between the cranes on this one…
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This quirky building is the very first reason I was interested in going to Livorno. I had been travelling at home around Tuscany by satellite map, looking for some nice place by the sea for a daytrip from Florence. There was Livorno of course, not far from Florence, and I started researching. The town looked nice enough, but it was when I came across this creation that I was hooked. I knew I just had to see it with my own eyes!
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But what could it be? It looks Roman, a bit Pantheon, grand, maybe it’s a theatre?
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The strange half sphere puzzled me. Was it just for decoration or did it have a purpose? Is it some kind of observatory?
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I just couldn’t figure it out. Until I got to translate an Italian text about the building.
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And all my guesses were way off. This huge colonnade, worthy of the grandest opera house or ancient Roman temple, actually marks the entrance to the largest of the water cisterns in Livorno.
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Who would have guessed?
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“Cisternone” means “great cistern” and this is the largest of three covered tanks built to provide Livorno with fresh and clean water from the Leopoldino aqueduct.
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The Cisternone was designed in 1829 and in full function 1842, and placed in what was the outskirts of town. This is what this neoclassical heavyweight looked like in its original rural Jane Austen-like setting.
Have you ever seen anything like it?
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The sunset glow. Again.
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In April the church of San Giovanni was covered in scaffolding and I took some photos just because I liked how the bars cast shadows on the wall and created all these geometrical shapes. This is the side door and if you look carefully you can see straws from a little bird’s nest sticking out just below the cartouche.
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This is the same door in June. The building has been restored, scaffolding is gone. I can’t say I see much difference. Do you? And the bird’s nest is still there…
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The breakers.
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This is Livorno Cathedral San Francesco with it’s belltower and apse facing via Cairoli. It was all built after the war and inaugurated at Christmas 1952.
The explanation:
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Livorno was heavily bombed during the second world war, and the 16th century cathedral was destroyed in1943. (Photo La Vecchia Livorno)
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After the war, the new Duomo slowly rose from the ruins. It was built as a reproduction, but naturally in a simplified and not as elaborate style.
Some of the art had been kept safe and could be reinstalled in the church, like Fra Angelico’s famous Christ crowned with thorns, see here.
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Above the only original part of the exterior.
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The Duomo front with it’s clean marble facade, a very clear and ever-present reminder of history. Now facing the temple of our times and it’s big yellow signs opposite the busy Piazza Grande.
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Let’s go back to the Old English Cemetery in Livorno to have a closer look at some of the tombstones. All of these graves and sculptures are from before 1838, when the cemetery closed.
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You can find all sorts of symbols and signs and it is an exciting place to go treasure hunting for mythological animals, crests, knights, portraits and flowers.
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One of the most beautiful sculptures of the cemetery.
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These are among the oldest tombs, from the 1600’s. Plain and undecorated in this triangular shape, adopted from Jewish gravestones at the time.
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If you want to know more or visit the cemetery, check out this site.
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These lovely kittens were pointed out to me, you had to look through a doorway and a locked gate to see this nice staircase with lions guarding it.
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At a closer look I think the lions look more surprised than threatening, but nevertheless their manes and paws are quite impressive.
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This one’s obviously got trouble staying alert and on guard. Lucky for him he’s not alone, otherwise I fear he’d be dismissed.
Anyway, two more kitties for the Lionhunter’s collection. Hope you like them!
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And for those of you who aren’t as much into lion hunting, maybe you will enjoy this beautiful door from the same palazzo?
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The last morning before catching an early train to Rome. Not many buses around on Saturday mornings. I had plenty of time to take in this beauty, right from the bus stop.
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A question came up about Livorno’s coat of arms. It is a crowned two tower fortress with a pennant saying “Fides” (faith). I searched my archives and found that the crest had sneaked its way into these photos. (For a clearer view, do an image search.) Above is the gate to Forte San Pietro with the fortress and the banner.
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The Palazzo del Governo with its long frieze showing the history of Livorno. Here is the coat of arms in a heavily cropped photo.
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An official comune moped used for office duty. Naturally with the crest on the splashboard!
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Speaking of crests, I stumbled upon the Swedish consulate, in the lovely old Venezia quarters!
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This is Teo. Our acquaintance was very brief, in fact I think it lasted less than one minute. But it was nice, and contained a short conversation – in Italian, which I by the way don’t speak – with his owner. And we laughed. Not Teo, he mostly sniffed and acted cool.
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I will remember Teo, because he represents one of those “Livornese moments” that I experienced so many of during my stay. Brief moments of connection with the locals, a smile, a few words, a friendliness and acceptance of me as a foreigner and outsider. I found a lot of that, more in Livorno than in other parts of Tuscany.
Teo also reminds me of a story I heard, a political wittiness which I believe the Livornese are quite famous for:
A man was out walking his dog, and they met an attractive bitch. His dog started humping and his owner had to drag him away from her, with the words “Come on Sirvio, let’s go!”
Sirvio being the Livornese pronunciation of Silvio, referring of course to mr Berlusconi and his infamous sexual escapades.
Nothing to do with this immaculate dachshund gentleman above, clearly đŸ™‚
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Old English cemetery, Livorno.
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This is the kind of thing that attracts my attention. A hole in the wall of the canal, big enough to drive a small boat through the gate. What is inside? A system of canals underneath the houses? Secret hiding places? Clever passages that lead right up to the kitchen so you can land your fish directly into the pan?
Alluring, isn’t it?
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This is the quarters of Venezia, Livorno. The odd looking hexagonal tower is the cupola of Santa Caterina. More about that in another post!
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A bridge over the Fosso Reale, the main canal of Livorno that is actually a moat. I can’t seem to find another name for this lovely bridge than ‘Piazza Cavour’. Maybe someone could correct me?
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Early one Saturday morning at Livorno train station.
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MATILDA'S KEEP - A Livorno Photo Album 