Thursday, October 29, 2009

Consulates

Not as many as in the past, but we can still spot some picturesque plaques and the occasional flag of a consulate on city buildings.
The Uruguayan consulate in “Via De Larderel”
The The Honorary Consulate of Greece in “Piazza Attias”
The Swedish consulate in “Via Cogorano”

37 comments:

Copenhagen said...

Any consulate from Canada? ;)

VP said...

@ White Oleander - No, but we have a Danish one!

tapirgal said...

What great finds. You won't be seeing any of these from your sister city.

Lowell said...

These are very interesting...again, my ignorance is showing, but why would Livorno have so many consulates?

We don't have any in Ocala! ;-)

Julie said...

I could probably rustle up a few of these flags and crests in an around where I am staying for the next couple of weeks. This part of Sydney is the consulate area of Woollahra and Bellvue Hill.

I like to see all the insignia from around the world. Shows a lot of history and a lot of colour.

Julie ScottsdaleDailyPhoto.com said...

great first photo. and i liked your anchor photos

Unknown said...

Are these consulates in Livorno? The crests are attractive but why not fly flags that wave in the wind and attract attention? ;-)

Leif Hagen said...

I'm surprised to see consulates in Livorno?
Heja Sverige - glad to see the Swedish one!
Halsningar fran Hagen

Tash said...

Colorful. That's actually more than I would of expected. Must be all the shipping and cruise traffic that calls for them.

Unseen India Tours said...

Beautiful and lovely shots !! Nice post !!

Mathieu Grenet said...

@ Jacob : I think Livorno has many consulates due to its commercial prominence in the 17th-18th centuries. At this time, each consulate was in charge of representing/defending the interest of one "trading nation" (Greeks, Swedes, French, etc.). Therefore, there was no need to have one in the capital (i.e., Florence), but rather in the blossoming port-city.

brattcat said...

So interesting that only the Swedish consulate is unshuttered. Do you suppose there is some symbolism there?

nobu said...

I love this series!
Nice idea.

joo said...

I like The Uruguayan consulate the most:)
Is there The Polish consulate inLivorno?

Hilda said...

Very discreet. I like that.

B SQUARED said...

Some is better than none.

Cezar and Léia said...

It's cool, and I also love flags!
And about Brazilian consulate?
Léia :)

Lowell said...

@ Mathieu - Merci for the explanation. That is rather what I had thought, but was unsure and probably couldn't have put it into words that made sense. Appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts with me (and others).

Halcyon said...

If the US had a consulate there, I'm sure they'd put up a much bigger flag. ;-)

Three Rivers, Michigan said...

A nice collection of consulates, and an enjoyable series of photos!

It is interesting that there would be a Uruguayan consulate - part of Livorno's history as a great port of trade, I'm sure.

http://threeriversdailyphoto.blogspot.com

Saretta said...

What an international city Livorno is! I had no idea!

Gunn said...

I will look to see if I find similar beautiful signs...
Thanks for sharing.
(To be honest, I had not heard about Livorno until I started following your blog.... )

Frank said...

I always like the consulates with brass plagues at the doorways. Highly polished and deeply etched. Great series.

You will have to speak to the various countries about awarding a consulate to Ocala, Florida USA. They are growing restless. (I know just the person for a Counsel General post.)

James said...

These are great. It's interesting to see the symbols on the plaques.

Stefan Jansson said...

The Vikings are everywhere!

Lowell said...

@ Frank - Thank you so much, Frank. I'm glad that there is at least one person in the world who recognizes the importance of Ocala...

I mean, we do have a plethora of horse manure!

If this works you, would you be interested in the Counsul General's post? You could ride about on your pinto pony...

Frank said...

@ Jacob - I would certainly be interested in the Ocala consulate post but ONLY if Vogon Poet can arrange for my post to BE in Livorno. I promise to make the Pinto pony behave and perhaps they would consider carving a large statue of me on the pony for the large town square. (Jacob - Do I need my really tall boots to just visit Ocala?)

Andreea said...

I was also surprised to see consulates in Livorno but then I read Mathieu's explanation. I guess it makes sense. Nice series.

VP said...

@ Mathieu - Thank you for the perfect explanation.
@ brattcat - If I remember well I took the pictures of the shuttered consulates during my Sunday afternoon walks and the Swedish one during a weekday.
@ joo & Léia - Sorry, no Polish or Brazilian consulates but we have: Malta, Portugal, India and Denmark...

stromsjo said...

Embassies and consulates are being closed these days due to budget constraints. Maybe the powers at the ministry for foreign affairs have forgotten about this consulate? ;)

Thanks for sharing!

VP said...

@ Halcyon - No American consulate, but in case of need you can try here...

VP said...

@ Asta - If I remember well the Greek Honorary Consul is a renowned dentist, so be careful...

Unknown said...

What a great idea! This would never cross my mind... :-)

cieldequimper said...

Isn't it great to see allsorts of different nationalities like that? Ports have that advantage...

Ellie said...

Right! Foreigners still need those. It is amazing though with the EU how many borders fell. When I was growing up in Bulgaria it was something unbelievable to travel to Europe freely. The world has changed so much in a lifetime. Somehow I ended up in the USA. I passed near Greek Embassy every day when I was in college in Sofia.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Important and interesting--would be fun to know a little more. (I have a wild imagination and I am sure what really goes on is probably very pedestrian.)

Tinsie said...

Hehe we're there too!

Only just saw this post, and I couldn't not comment :-)