Villa Fabbricotti

“Villa Fabbricotti”, originally a Medicean villa, was purchased by Bernardo Fabbricotti in 1881. It was enlarged and restructured by the architect Vincenzo Micheli, who built a beautiful park in the surrounding 27 hectares (67 acres) of land.From this Bing Maps aerial view we can see the old tree lined avenues leading to the park, not long time ago still countryside just outside the city walls. In 1936 the villa was sold to the municipality of Livorno and, during the last war, housed first the German and then the Allied Headquarters.Now the villa hosts the “Biblioteca Labronica” (Civic Library) and the park, much reduced in size now, is open to the public. As “Villa Fabbricotti” we usually mean the park itself, which is my favorite in town for several reasons, most of them personal. I played there as a kid, I studied in the library and flirted in the park as a student. In time, I took my own kid there to play.Every kid entering the park for the first time was fascinated by the charming keeper's house, amidst the green as in a fairy tale.This artificial grotto was another joy for the kids, because you can safely climb on top or hide inside. Not far from here there is now the infamous dangerous playground we saw few days ago.
During summer months there is an open-air cinema inside the park, just in front of the library. Unfortunately chairs and screen stay there for the rest of the year, even during winter.Near the “Piazza Matteotti” entrance there is a thriving “centro anziani” (senior citizen club), so another leg of my trip through the ages in “Villa Fabbricotti” could be already set.

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