Livorna, Italy
For most visitors arriving by cruise ships, the city of Livorno
serves as a jumping-off point for daytrips elsewhere. And while
Florence is no doubt the richest destination of all, Livorno’s north
Tuscan locale means that other cities – Pisa, with its famous leaning
tower; the walled city of Lucca; and San Gimignano, with 14 of its
medieval towers still intact – are also options, particularly if you
have been to Florence before.
Many experts advise seeing Florence or Pisa on a one-day port visit by
cruise ship. Though some tours claim to cover both, you’ll get no more
than a rushed look at a few icons … and if you’re too early or late
for any, they may well be closed.
But for guests not taking cruise ship arranged tours, there is plenty to see and do around Livorno.
The currency is the euro. There are plenty of ATM machines and exchange bureaus in town.
The local language is Italian, but at least basic English is spoken in most tourist spots; phrase books can come in handy.
Ships typically provide shuttles to Livorno’s Piazza Grande; the train
station is then a 15-minute cab ride away. Getting to Florence by train
takes about 90 minutes, and there are several “early morning”
departures. Trains return to Livorno from Florence’s Santa Maria
Novella Station. Check the train schedule just prior to your cruise.
By Motorcoach Shuttle: Most cruise ships offer “shuttle service” (a
motorcoach to and from Florence) for those who want to travel
independently. Because of the distance and the likelihood of traffic
problems, we’ve found these to be a good deal. Plus, guides sometimes
accompany the motorcoach and can offer recommendations for things to do
and see, as well as places to eat.
By Rental Car: Hertz and Avis set up tables at the dock in Livorno. One
warning: Driving can be challenging, and even though they advertise
that it’s easy to park in Florence, that’s simply not true. Unless
you’re planning to visit other Tuscan spots, such as Lucca or San
Gimignano, we’d recommend using your ship’s motorcoach transportation.
By Taxi: If traffic isn’t a huge factor, it takes about an hour and 15
minutes to drive to Florence from Livorno. Taxis line up outside the
ship; one-way prices can push 200 euros, but if you decide to splurge
on the ride, your best bet is to negotiate a round-trip fare so the
driver will wait around for you. Taxi drivers will also happily offer
daylong tours of Florence and Pisa. However, Florence is a small city,
and the traffic can get clogged. With a map, though, it’s not difficult
to find your way around.
Plan and Book:
Livorna, Italy: See and Do
Livorno is known for its seafood, Renaissance-era fortifications and
modern harbor with a cruise ship port. Its central Terrazza Mascagni, a
waterside promenade with checkerboard paving, is the city’s main
gathering place. The bastions of the 16th-century Fortezza Vecchia face
the harbour and open onto Livorno’s canal-laced Venezia Nuova quarter.
The Venice Neighborhood (“La Venezia” in Italian) of Livorno is like
or is similar to the city of Venice. It is surrounded by canals and
it’s one of the oldest and most beautiful part of the city. In this
area, especially in Summer, you can stop at the tables of some locals
to enjoy a beer or a delicous typical food. In this area there is also
the old San Marco’s Theatre in which the Italian Communist Party was
born in 1921 . You can see a great prospective of the neighborhood from
the beautiful square Piazza della Repubblica, the second square/bridge
biggest of Europe. The big Dome of the Chiesa dei Dominicani (
Dominican Church ) marks the center of Venice Neighborhood. Follow the
dome to get inside from Piazza della Repubblica and enjoy walking close
to the channels, in the beautiful and elegant Via Borra and inside all
the little street of this beautiful neighborhood.
Livorno Aquarium, dedicated to Diacinto Cestoni, is the main in
Tuscany, situated by Terrazza Mascagni on the seafront promenade.
Livorno Aquarium has 33 exhibition tanks containing 2000 animals of 300
different species. Up in the hills the Sanctuary of Montenero,
dedicated to Our Lady of Graces, the patron saint of Tuscany, is a
destination for pilgrims. It is famous for the adjacent gallery,
decorated with ex-voto, chiefly related to events of miraculous rescues
of people at sea.
English travellers of the past loved Livorno, and many of them ended
their days here. The grave of 18th-century novelist Tobias Smollet can
be seen in the atmospheric Old English Cemetery in Via Verdi –
the oldest place of non-Catholic burial in Italy. There are yet more
evocative old expatriate tombstones in the New English Cemetery, which
has been in operation in Via Pera since the 19th century.
The magnificent Monday-Saturday morning Mercato Centrale market off
Piazza Cavour is where Livorno’s housewives come to stock up;
nearby in Via Buontalenti is the clothes market. Friday morning’s
street market in Via dei Pensieri is a colourful mish-mash of food,
clothes, accessories and household items.
The coast around Livorno includes some of the most popular beaches in
all of Tuscany. From Antignano down to Rosignano the waterfront is
actually reef but this does not discourage anyone from spending the day
at the sea. Make sure to bring water shoes or buy some from the many
vendors, then lay out your towel, get some sun, then go snorkeling,
then rest and get some more sun. The towns here all offer boardwalks
with bars (cafes), gelato shops and restaurants as well as any beach
paraphernalia you might have forgotten to bring along. Castiglioncello,
Vada and Cecina are some of the easiest to reach with public
transporation as the towns (and train station along the Pisa-Grosseto
line) are on the coast or not far.
From Rosignano down to Riotorto the beach turns into small pebbles or
coarse sand, the beaches tend to be very short before you reach a
barrier of rock into the sea, many of which have natural rock pools to
swim in. The water in general tends to be calmer in this area. A car is
preferable to visit the more distant beaches, as public transportation
is limited.
Regional Destinations
Forte dei Marmi
Beach aficionados should head to Forte dei Marmi, the area’s most
elite summer resort town. It offers designer shopping and a whole raft
of restaurants along the beachfront. The shopping area is located
between Piazza Garibaldi, Via Roma, Via Mazzini and Piazza Dante where
one can find the most luxurious boutiques from the most popular fashion
brands, like the Roberto Cavalli and Ermanno Scervino, Dolce and
Gabbana, Miu Miu, Principe di Firenze, Louis Vuitton, Liu Jo, Versace,
Benetton, Lanvin, Gucci and Prada. The last three have made pieces
exclusively for Forte dei Marmi. There are also several multi-brands
shops like the Market Gallery, or the Fiacchini boutiques. For italian
design there is Galleria Ricrea, in Garibaldi street, for shoes
accessories one can visit Relations de Voyages, in XX Settembre street.
Haute couture and fashion brands can be found all along the Versilia
coast, like in Pietrasanta where Atelier Paolo Milani, Marco Bign, Zoe
and Silvia Bini, four stylish multi-brand stores.
Pietrasanta
While in Forte dei Marmi, visit the nearby town of Pietrasanta,
hat’s a hub for artists and sculptors. Pietrasanta is a lovely medieval
town named the Little Athens of Italy, thanks to the many international
artists that chose Pietrasanta as their adopted country. Since its
foundation on 1200 by Guiscardo da Pietrasanta, chief magistrate of the
close town of Lucca, the village was a crossroads of artists coming
from all over the world. It is still one of the most qualified centres
for the art of the sculpture. There are numerous artisan studios and
foundries scattered in the town. They are often run by families that
hand down skills from generation to generation. Many of them are open
to visitors for an educative and interesting tour.
Note that these villages lie between the Mediterranean Sea and the
Apuan Alps, and the white expanse you see near some craggy peaks is not
snow – it’s marble. These mountains are the source of much of the
marble gracing some of Italy’s greatest monuments; Michelangelo sourced
his from nearby Carrara.
Carrara
Carrara isn’t just another Tuscan hill town; it’s the undisputed
marble capital of the world. Sitting at the point where the Apuan Alps
descend to the Mediterranean Sea, the quarries of Carrara have been
excavated since Roman times. Its prized stone comes in milky white and
slatey-gray, and has been used in the most important monuments,
churches and sculptures in Italy for more than two millennia. You can
visit the quarries to see how the stone is extracted and moved down the
mountain. There are plenty of examples of the stone around town, too,
between the piazzas, fountains and monuments. The cathedral of
Sant’Andrea Apostolo is made almost entirely of marble. It was built in
three phases and encompasses three architectural styles – Romanesque,
Renaissance and Gothic. It has elaborately carved columns and an ornate
rose window on its facade, and an internal colonnade. Carrara is also
home to a Marble Museum, which exhibits the culture, extraction,
working and final products of the town’s most revered product. Carrara
is 2 hours by train from Florence.
Lucca
Lucca is one of the most beguiling, undiscovered treasures of
Tuscany. This medieval walled city dates back to the time of Caesar,
Pompey and Crassus, as well as the Renaissance era. Major sights to see
include the Romanesque-style Duomo, built in the 13th century; the
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Mansi; and the San Michele in Foro, with its
bustling, fabulously atmospheric piazza. We have to admit, though, that
our favorite activities in Lucca include simply poking around the
narrow streets, investigating gorgeous gardens, and shopping with
locals and tourists alike. Active types can rent bikes and cycle atop
the Passeggiata della Mura, the ring of ramparts that enclose the
walled city. For a more relaxing option, sip Lucchesian wine at a
sidewalk cafe while grabbing lunch.
San Gimignano
San Gimignano is a hill town in Tuscany, 56 km south of Florence. It
served as an important relay point for pilgrims travelling to or from
Rome on the Via Francigena. The patrician families who controlled the
town built around 72 tower-houses (some as high as 50 m) as symbols of
their wealth and power. Although only 14 have survived, San Gimignano
has retained its feudal atmosphere and appearance. The town also has
several masterpieces of 14th- and 15th-century Italian art. The
buildings within the town’s double wall provide a shining example
of medieval architecture with influences of Florentine, Sienese, and
Pisan styles from the 12th to the 14th century.
Encircled by 13th-century walls, its old town centres on Piazza della
Cisterna, a triangular square lined with medieval houses. Other
medieval features include fountains and towers, such as the stone Torre
Grossa. The Duomo di San Gimignano is a 12th-century church with
frescoes by Ghirlandaio in its Santa Fina Chapel.
Pisa
Home of the infamous Leaning Tower, Pisa is a delightful Tuscan city
on the Arno River. It’s also the closest tourist spot to Livorno. Pisa
is a safe city, you do not need to worry about your safety (except for
some zone at night, such as the area surrounding the station). However
you should take the obvious precautions (like, if you stay in a very
cheap hotel, take your valuables with you) and watch out for
pickpockets in the touristy areas.
The half hour walk from the Campo dei Miracoli (Field of Miracles) to
the train station runs through a pedestrian street with many
interesting sights, shops, and restaurants. The best way to visit Pisa
is walking the streets, as the city center is very small, and enjoy the
sight and the atmosphere. Pisa would not be Pisa without the
University. The city is animated by the students, who organize parties,
shows, and cultural events, and fill the central street of the city at
night. The University of Pisa has 60,000 students in a city of about
100,000 inhabitants. You’ll notice the student flair in the the city
once you leave the touristy campo dei miracoli.
Piazza dei Cavalieri a small town square with many historical buildings
that hosted the political powers of the city in the middle ages and
Renaissance, but most of them are not accessible to tourists, as they
are now property of the University of Pisa or Scuola Normale Superiore
(a prestigious elitary school).
Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower) was originally conceived as the
cathedral’s bell tower. Construction began in 1173 and the tower
started leaning soon afterwards due to subsidence of the ground
underneath its base. A project to keep the tower from leaning more and
tipping over finally reached a successful conclusion in 2001, and the
tower is again open to those wishing to climb it. Climbing the tower
requires a reservation-based ticket. Tickets can be bought for the
tower on the day, for a specific entry time. This could be 45 minutes
to 3 hours after the purchase time, but there is a lot to see while you
wait. Make the effort to climb, though, and you’ll be rewarded by the
view.
On June 16th Pisa holds the Luminara festival, held for the patron
saint’s day (San Ranieri). At sunset, all the lights along the Arno are
dimmed and more than 10,000 candles are lit, which makes for some
spectacular sights from the Ponte di Mezzo. Various activities are
organized in the streets and the night ends with a big fireworks.
Another summer attraction is the Gioco del Ponte (Game of Bridge), a
historical manifestation held yearly on the last Sunday of June, in
which the two sides of the city (Tramontana and Mezzogiorno,
geographically split by the Arno river) participate in a historical
procession, with 709 walk-ons, then challenge each other to a physical
match in which their teams, each composed of 20 members, try to conquer
the “Ponte di Mezzo” (the main bridge in Pisa) by pushing a trolley in
order to force the rival team off the bridge.
Florence
On any Western Mediterranean itinerary, Florence is an absolute
highlight – the gem of the early Italian Renaissance. In the 15th
century, when great artists like Giotto, Ghiberti, Brunelleschi and
Michelangelo worked there, they created magnificent examples of
painting and sculpture that today still fill Florentine churches, civic
buildings, grand palazzi and world-class museums like the Uffizi
Gallery and the Accademia. Architecture prospered in Florence, too. The
city’s signature work of art is the masterful Brunelleschi-designed
dome of its cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore, known as the Duomo.
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