“Venezia” is proudly flying its colors after winning every rowing competition this year.
They won their 21st “Palio Marinaro” and wisely recycled the last victory banner, which now says: “Twenty triumphs... + 1”.
The red and the white are flying even from the top of the bell tower of the church of “San Ferdinando”.
“Sagra” is something that could be translated in English as festival or fair, usually linked to some local food in a small town or village, with music and dance usually going along with the food.
“Totano fritto” (the accent is on the first “o”) is a deep-fried sliced flying squid, something like the more common fried “calamari”.
“Cinghiale” is our wild boar. There are many more “sagre” around Tuscany, typically announced with simple and garish posters, and most of these places are not far from Livorno.
I saw this nice fish in a shop window in “Via Ricasoli”.
Same street, we have already seen a door handle like this here.
A new shop awaits its opening, still in “Via Ricasoli”.
But you better don't drive, or your car may end up like this.
“The pee maniac attacks a thirteen year old girl” - “I am a Pisan and won't play for Livorno, footballer tears his contract”.
“Alarife Cien” is a BD100 (30 m/99 ft) sailing yacht built in 2007 by the Barcos Deportivos shipyard in Tarragona, Spain.
Both the hull and the superstructure are in aluminium, with a sail area of 530 square meters. The boat has a crew of four, with room for six guests.
For sailing, she has something more than a simple compass...
Flying at the stern the “yacht ensign” version of the Spanish flag.
When in Paris, we often visit Père Lachaise and never miss a few moments at Modigliani's tomb.
I found this car sitting on a bench at the “Andana degli Anelli”.
Somehow the car went through two racks and down the staircase.
The bench offered some rest to the poor vehicle and saved it from splashing into the water.
This is the 15 meter catamaran “Baies du Monde” sailing from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean as part of the project Windincap.
The actual cruise started from the island of Oléron, off the Atlantic coast of France last April and will end in Croatia next August after calling in twenty sea cities for few days. In each port groups of disabled people will be taken on board to share for some hours the experience of sailing.
The boat has been in Livorno since July 20 and will leave for Ostia (Rome) on July 25.
We see seagulls far inland now, so no surprise at this one proudly prodding the grass of the “Parterre”.
On the battlements of the “Fortezza Nuova”, another gull is still looking at the sea.
This little guy is only a bit nervous under the scorching sun.
The “Prince Abdulaziz” is one of the Royal Yachts of the Saudi Royal family and the fourth largest motor yacht in the world.
Built in 1984 by Helsingør Vaerft in Denmark at a reported cost of $184 millions, the boat has a length of 147 meters (482 feet) and was refitted various times since, most recently in 2005.
In Jedda, her home port, the “Prince Abdulaziz” is usually berthed beside the King’s palace. Manned by a crew of 65, the boat features a mosque, a cinema and a fully equipped hospital.
I hope the star of the “Brigate Rosse” (Red Brigades) is a joke, even if a very bad one.
This one says: “Let's hope that the crisis gets worse”.
The last one is quite laconic and even (badly) dated: “Shit!”.
It seems that the sculptor Pietro Tacca used only two convicts as models for the “Four Moors”. The younger was Morgiano (which is a the name dark type of grapes) and the older was Alì.
Try to judge by yourself if this can be true, here are the Northwest and the Southeast moors.
Meet Alì, the Northeast and Southwest moor. Some say that the artist tried to represent the four ages of the man, portraying both models younger and older.
Both convicts were freed after the work and legend says that the younger Morgiano sometimes brought his new family to see “his” monument.
What is a “I” instead of a “Y”?
I am not sure if this means “Free beauty” or “Devoid of beauty”, in both cases the beauty salon seems doomed.
“Piazza XX Settembre” (September 20th Square) is often called by locals “Piazza Venti”...
I have already said in another post what I think of sunsets, but I really like the warm light before.
I took these pictures during a quick walk around the “fossi” (our canals), finding some nice reflections either. This is a detail of the “Ponte dei Domenicani”.
One of the boats of the “Nautical Institute”, with in background the stones of the “Fosso Reale” enhanced by the grazing light.
Not much more of a decrepit coat of arms of Livorno is left of the “Pubblici Macelli” (Public Slaughterhouses), where once animals were processed for consumption.
The Medicean walls runs along with “Via della Cinta Esterna” until we find ourselves in the heart of the quarter of “Venezia”.
There, another street name reminds us of the former destination of the place: “Via degli Ammazzatoi” or Slaughterhouse Street.
The Leopoldine walls were built to enforce tariffs, not for defence. Smugglers tried to hoist merchandise over the wall but these teeth effectively blocked the ropes.
The wall still borders most of “Via della Cinta Esterna” (Road of the Exterior Boundary)...
...until it meets the older tract of Medicean walls, where was once located the Public Slaughterhouse.
