“Scali Saffi”: a white ribbon on a red rear-view mirror.
A big cone of “Italian ice cream” in “Via Magenta”.
A knocked over sign of men at work...
An iron gate before the front door in “Via Oberdan”.
Not far from the above gate, a small “Madonnina”...
You have already seen this device, probably in some old movie: it is called engine order telegraph and it was used on the deck of a vessel to request a certain desired speed from the engine room.
The dials of the two telegraphs are different only for the language used, but “ahead” is on the left above and on the right below.
On the same building in “Piazza Cavour” where we have an image of Hercules Labro, we can see another bas-relief representing Saint Julia, the patron saint of Livorno. There are several different versions of the martirdom of the Saint in Corsica, but it seems that some monks from the Gorgona island carried her body to a sepulchre on their land. In 762, Desiderius, king of the Lombards, removed her relics to the Benedictine abbey of Brescia.
The “San Giovanni” (Saint John) church weather vane, an image of the saint missing from the John the Baptist post.
The profile of Giuseppe Mazzini, from his bust in “Piazza Mazzini”.
The monument to Giovanni Fattori in “Largo del Cisternino”, seen from behind.
On a slightly windy day at the “Porto Mediceo” little sparrows tend to come close to you, looking for cover or for food. Fishermen are usually well provided with worms and sometimes they even throw some to the birds.
I usually don't carry worms and I have always been quite happy with that, until this morning... (Photos taken on April 26)
A couple of Lladró porcelain figurines in “Via Ricasoli”, the first is a “Girl with French bulldog”.
The other one is a butterfly, but it is called “A moment's rest”.
Giuseppe Micali (Livorno 1769 - Florence 1844) was a historian and archeologist, author of “L'Italia avanti il dominio dei Romani” (Italy before Roman rule, 1810) and “Storia degli antichi popoli italiani” (History of the ancient peoples of Italy, 1832).
His statue was sculpted around al 1862 by the livornese Giovanni Paganucci and was originally placed at the “Liceo Niccolini”. It was moved into the courtyard of the local Courthouse in 1918.
A winged lion, the symbol of Saint Mark the Evangelist, marks the building owned by the “Assicurazioni Generali”, by far the largest insurance company in Italy. The company was founded in Trieste in 1831, when the city was still part of the Austrian Empire. The original symbol was the eagle of the Habsburgs, but the Venice division adopted the Saint Mark's Lion for the Italian market. After the return of Trieste to Italy, the Marcian lion became the official symbol of the company.
The book bears the inscription “Pax tibi, Marce, evangelista meus” (Peace to you, Mark, my evangelist).
Did you know that Livorno was founded by Hercules himself? It is obviously only a legend, but we have a bas-relief of the demigod on a building in “Piazza Cavour”.
Some are paddling for fun,
others are rowing for sport,
many are motoring out of the port for a sunny day at sea.
“Via San Giovanni” was for a long time the “via Maestra” (main road) through the old village of Livorno, well before the Medicis began to plan their ideal city. Even on a nearby post-war building we can find a mosaic portraying the Baptist in his iconic pose.
The side entrance of the church of “San Giovanni Battista”, built in the 17th century, with another image of the Baptist. Here there was once the main entrance of a much older (1256) church which gave the name at the street itself.
Opposite the church actual main entrance facing “Via Carraia”, in a niche on the corner with “Via San Giovanni”, we can see another statue of the Baptist in an almost comic variation on the traditional pose.
A rickety metal structure materialized in “Piazza del Municipio”: it is clearly unfinished and has probably something to do with the tourists from the cruise ships.
Our temporary lamp posts on the “Scali Saffi” (left) are changing in something better (right). We will have real street lights soon...
Detail of a wooden boat in the “Fosso Reale”.
The “Palazzo dell'Aquila Nera” seen from “Piazza Cavour”.
Three gulls floating in the “Fosso Reale”.
A forklift parked alongside the “Moby Freedom”.
Empty beer bottles (and one of water) in “Piazza Mazzini”.
These brave guys are hovering above the skylight of the “Mercato Centrale” in the basket of a huge cherry picker. They are probably checking the state of the roof, made of Eternit boards, hence the protective gear.
The truck parked on the side of the “Mercato Centrale”.
From below, a co-worker is carefully maneuvering the boom lift.
