This is the “Parco Centro Città” (City Center Park). We can see a couple of crane where once was the “Odeon” movie theater and the “Astoria” residences in background.
The park has a small pond with some shy fountains.
Always quiet and mostly deserted on an early Sunday afternoon, it takes almost the whole space inside a large city block delimited by “Via Ricasoli”, “Corso Mazzini”, “Via San Carlo” and “Via Verdi”.
The oldest part of the “Fortezza Vecchia” is the “Torre Quadrata” (Square Tower), which once guarded the Pisan port, its lower part still visible now. The round tower known as “Mastio di Matilde” (Matilda's Keep) was built after 1241 or even later. Matilda of Tuscany died in 1115, so the attribution is obviously wrong.
Since the second half of the 14th century the two towers were surrounded by by a wall called “Quadratura dei Pisani” (Pisans' Square Fort).
The fort guarded the southern entrance of the almost interred old Pisan port and the “Pamiglione”, the oldest part of the harbor of Livorno. With the construction of the “Fortezza Vecchia” the older structures were included in its walls.
The Florentine lily, a later addition to the round tower.
The only survivor of the buildings on this part of the fortress is the “Palazzo di Francesco”, built by Francesco I de' Medici, practically rebuilt after the war.
During the reconstruction, part of the wall was purposedly left unplastered, to show how the building was originally built.
The small balcony was added on a request by Cavaniglia himself.
The “Palinuro” in the “Porto Mediceo”, last year.
A detailed drawing of the same ship.
An archive shot of the “Amerigo Vespucci” at the Capitaneria pier.
A drawing of the “Amerigo Vespucci”.
The “Cristoforo Colombo”, sister ship of the “Amerigo Vespucci”.
If you lack imagination, just try the name of the place: a bar near “Piazza Cavallotti”.
Another bar at number 4 “Via Maggi”, where “quattro” is four.
“57100” is the zipcode of Livorno. By the way, today we're coming home from a long Roman holiday.
This is the only bastion named after a real person, the Neapolitan nobleman Cesare Cavaniglia, Tuscan admiral and Knight of Order of Saint Stephen. Our forefathers switched two syllables and now he'll be forever remembered as “Canaviglia”.
The unusual feature of this bastion is the small palace, with a view of the “Porto Mediceo”, built by Francesco I de' Medici.
The “Canaviglia” seen from the swing bridge between the “Porto Mediceo” and the cargo port.
Another marble lion head, just like the one on the “Ampolletta”.
A view from the Capitaneria pier, with the swing bridge open.
Some patches of color around the Old Harbor in an unusually grey day last August.
Who hanged this puppet witch? The fishermen working nearby?
Chains of buoys and fishing nets waiting to be fixed.
A view of the southern side of the fortress with the “Canaviglia” on the left, the “Molo del Soccorso” just in the middle and the “Mastio di Matilde” towering behind.
On 17th October 1600 Marie de' Medici sailed from here in a galley aptely named “Reale” to arrive in Marseille and then in Paris as queen of France, after the marriage with Henry IV.
Now the jetty is used as a landing for boat tours of the canals.
This is one of our garbage truck, or as they say Waste Collection Vehicle, emptying dumpsters in “Viale Caprera”, almost where a new canal has been recently dug.
This type of side loader is automatic and it is usually operated by the driver alone.
The “Ampolletta” (Small ampoule) bastion still looks relatively intact. Its name probably comes from the diminutive term for the hourglass keeping the time of the fortress.
This marble lion head is a replica of a bronze one where the galleys used to moor, the originals is now kept in the entrance hall of the Province of Livorno.
A view of the the eastern side of the bastion, the “Porta del Duca” is on the right.
The coat of arms of Jean II Le Maingre, called Boucicaut, Marshal of France, appointed Governor of Genoa by Charles VI in 1401.
Between the “Ampolletta” and the “Canaviglia” (in background) is visible a small jetty called “Molo del Soccorso” (Relief Pier).
People sometimes choose funny ways to advertise their trade: this is the van of a local plumber.
Here we have a house painter...
...and some building contractors.
The “Capitana” (Captainess) bastion barely survived some Allied bombs hitting German ammunitions stored inside.
The walls were somewhat “grafted” together after the war, but the damage is visible and the bastion is still off-limits for visitors. This is the part of the fortress you see better from the terrace of the former “Piazza dei Grani”.
Sadly, several half sunken boats around the bastion's southern end spoil the beautiful view.
