Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Canale dei Navicelli

Canale dei Navicelli, LivornoIn the second half of the 16th Century Cosimo I de' Medici ordered the construction of an inland canal linking Pisa to the port of Livorno. This was called “Canale dei Navicelli” and still exists. The “navicelli” were typical sail boats used on inland waterways in Tuscany, which then became barges pulled by draft animals walking along the bank of the canal.Canale dei Navicelli, LivornoThe “canale” enter the port of Livorno and a further branch reaches straight inside the Venice quarter, through the bridge called “Pontino”. Beyond the bridge we can see the bulk and the trees of the “Fortezza Nuova”. For a view from the other side check the post “From the Fortress”.Canale dei Navicelli, LivornoThe final tract of the canal, interred in the first years of the last century, is now in the process of being re-excavated as narrated in the post “An Useless Dig”. Several shipyards are located along the out of town part of the canal. The U.S. Army base of Camp Darby has a direct access to the port of Livorno through the “Canale dei Navicelli”.

Search labels: new canal
See also: An Useless Dig - Viale Caprera - Micropoles - New Venice - A New Canal - Crash - The Dig - Building the Canal - Venice's Canal - The Old “Cantina” - Along the New Canal - Under Construction - The Bomb - The Buried Bomb - The Wall - Modulblock

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27 comments:

  1. brattcatSeptember 23, 2009 at 1:25 AM

    Ah, such a civilized mode of travel.

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  2. LowellSeptember 23, 2009 at 1:42 AM

    It's very beautiful, VP. I love canals that wind through cities, and I'm amazed at all the boats of every description.

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  3. Leif HagenSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:53 AM

    Relaxing photos! I wonder if people ever take a canoe or paddleboat through the "canale dei Navicelli?!"

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  4. Clueless in BostonSeptember 23, 2009 at 3:06 AM

    It does look lovely.

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  5. KateSeptember 23, 2009 at 3:47 AM

    At first I thought that I would love to live on that canal, but....then I looked at all the motors on the boats and thought, " Hmm, this could get a little noisy!"

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  6. JamesSeptember 23, 2009 at 5:17 AM

    Really great pictures. We lived near a canal when we were in Texas, but it was nothing like yours.

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  7. BaruchSeptember 23, 2009 at 6:47 AM

    Canals are so foreign to us here in NZ

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  8. prashantSeptember 23, 2009 at 7:38 AM

    t's very beautiful, VP. I love canals that wind through cities, and I'm amazed at all the boats of every description.
    Make website india

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  9. Unseen RajasthanSeptember 23, 2009 at 8:18 AM

    Beautiful shot !! Too Many boats !! Nice.Unseen Rajasthan

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  10. Stefan JanssonSeptember 23, 2009 at 11:01 AM

    Nice piece of history and some good photos with the story.

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  11. Cezar and LéiaSeptember 23, 2009 at 12:45 PM

    Cosimo I was the "boss"indeed! So nice to see that people still use these canals nowadays.
    Beautiful pictures!
    Léia

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  12. cieldequimperSeptember 23, 2009 at 1:00 PM

    Interesting story. While searching for the typical boats, I came across the canal's website. Wow! I also found a photo of an old navicello, wow too. Pretty huge, black boat!

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  13. TinsieSeptember 23, 2009 at 1:50 PM

    Looks pretty!

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  14. KcalpeshSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:09 PM

    Is that the water highway? With so many boats parked in the previous pics, it seems waterway is the best transport? Nice shots!

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  15. B SQUAREDSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:15 PM

    Looks just like home. More boats than cars.

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  16. nobuSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:20 PM

    Beautiful view of the canale, and I like those bridges.

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  17. HildaSeptember 23, 2009 at 2:29 PM

    That sounds like a very nice and leisurely way to travel. But if the connection to Pisa is still there, why excavate the other part of the canal? Does it lead anywhere else?

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  18. HalcyonSeptember 23, 2009 at 6:14 PM

    Beautiful pictures of the canals. Thanks for the history lesson too - very interesting!

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  19. MarcelSeptember 23, 2009 at 7:21 PM

    Do they have canal boat trips as well?

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  20. AndreeaSeptember 23, 2009 at 8:40 PM

    Beautiful views, the canals look peaceful and lovely. Is there usually no traffic on them or did you just catch them at the right moment when no boat was on sight?

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  21. tapirgalSeptember 23, 2009 at 10:03 PM

    Beautiful canals, but nobody is sailing on them :(

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  22. Rob SiemannSeptember 23, 2009 at 10:33 PM

    My kind of place. One of my best memories of France is 10 days spent on a barge on the Canal du Midi. Your photos remind me a lot of that good time.

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  23. VPSeptember 23, 2009 at 10:33 PM

    @ Jacob - Only scooters outnumber boats in Livorno...
    @ ciel - Ugly boats, we'll see some in another post.
    @ Hilda - Right, no practical purpose in this.
    @ MaCoBra - I think they do it on the Pisan end of the canal.
    @ Andrea - The only traffic is epresented by the owners of the boats. This was an early Sunday afternoon.

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  24. NishantSeptember 24, 2009 at 8:40 AM

    t's very beautiful, VP. I love canals that wind through cities, and I'm amazed at all the boats of every description.
    How to make a website

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  25. Crafty Green PoetSeptember 27, 2009 at 9:52 PM

    you've got a very interesting blog here, not just the photos but all the historical detail too!

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  26. NadineSeptember 29, 2009 at 7:16 PM

    Livorno is very beautiful city!

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  27. DinaMarch 27, 2010 at 7:35 AM

    OK, I am beginning to understand how the canals work.

    Interesting about the military beach (in your link).

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