The “Moby Freedom”, one of the sister ships of the “Moby Wonder”, usually operates on the same route linking Livorno with Olbia, in Sardinia. This ferry was also built in 2001 by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, in South Korea.
As usual Moby Lines ferries are painted with Looney Tunes liveries. In the rush to the finishing line we can see: Wile E. Coyote, Bugs Bunny, Taz, Tweety, Sylvester and Daffy Duck.
ATL (Azienda Trasporti Livornese), our public transport operator, has just installed several new bus stop signs illustrated with some of the landmarks of Livorno. Looking for something more about this, I found instead their quite emphatic mission statement:
“Piazza Carlo Poerio” was set out around 1850 when the course of the “Fosso Reale” was straightened out along with the demolition of the fortifications surrounding the old city center. The square disappeared in 1893 when the Antonio Benci elementary school was built. The “Chiesa degli Olandesi” (Dutch Church), on the right, was built between 1862 and 1864.
A recent image of the area in a bird's-eye view from Bing Maps. The old postcard is another interesting find in the collection of Antonio Cantelli.
Now that Valentine's Day is safely behind us, we can poke some fun at these love messages on molded chocolate. From left to right: “Il mio cuore corre da te” (My heart is running to you), “Sei la mia sinfonia” (You are my symphony), “Sei la mia perla” (You are my pearl), “Per la mia principessa” (For my princess).
Kneeling in sorrow, but still trying to get on the road anyway...
The “Corsica Victoria” was launched in 1973 as “Gotland” for the Swedish Stena Line, one of the world's largest ferry operators. In the 1980s the ferry was back in the Mediterranean and now links Livorno with Golfo Aranci (Olbia), in Sardinia.
She was built at the Jozo Lozovina-Mosor Shipyard in Trogir, Croatia (Yugoslavia then), like her almost identical sister ship, the “Sardinia Regina”
“This one is perfect for me and the dog!” says Guerrino of Montenero.
A detail of an office building in “Via Edda Fagni”, in the “Porta a mare” (Gate to the Sea) area.
A gentler and more natural tone at street level...
In this old postcard the Count of Turin is visiting the renowned spa of Livorno “Acque della Salute” (Waters of Health). I don't know if the King himself was in town then, but he surely wasn't in this photo.
Somebody fixed this in the second photo, crudely pasting another image of His Majesty in the middle of the existing group. Both versions of the postcard were circulated.
OK, this is not a patrol, but after six months they are still there abandoned in a canal. It seems that nobody thought to dismantle this giant table football at the end of last year's “Effetto Venezia”.
Lone scooter wheel, with perforated brake disc, lost against a wall of words.
The “Moby Wonder” usually links Livorno with Olbia, in Sardinia. It is a 175m cruiseferry, which is a kind of ship combining some features of a cruise ship with a ferry. The boat was built in 2001 in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the second largest shipbuilder in the world.
Moby Lines is known for its liveries featuring Looney Tunes characters: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Taz, Wile E. Coyote, Tweety and Sylvester are neatly framed on the sides of this ferry.
A Valentine's Day themed window display at the “Gaia Scienza” (The Gay Science) bookstore.
The window of a trendy clothes store in “Via Ricasoli”.
The half-dome of the transept of the “Santa Maria del Soccorso” church in “Piazza della Vittoria”.
Guglielmo Oberdan thinks: “I was a patriot and a martyr, but after 130 years I am tired of wearing a hangman's noose!”
“You are so slow!” - Turtles abandoned by their previous owners in the basin of the fountain of the park of “Villa Mimbelli”. (Picture taken in October 2011)
Wrought iron initials on a gate in “Via Borsi”. Maybe the monogram is not so mysterious, but what letters do you recognize?
Turrets of the “Fortezza Nuova” with the octagonal dome of the church of “Santa Caterina” in background.
Where is the weather vane that, until some time ago, proudly stood atop the bell tower of our Town Hall?
Has it gone with the wind? (The same picture enlarged)
The weather vane is still there, defying the wind. The top picture was taken at a deceiving angle.
Mother Nature, an amazing and unpredictable artist, organized a temporary exhibition of bicycle art in Livorno. Sadly, these works, wrongly called by incompetent critics “Icicle Art”, are now irreparably damaged and lost forever.
A view toward south from the roof of the villa: we can see the coastline as far as Antignano.
The snow covers the marina of Ardenza and the sea resorts.
The “Federico Caprilli” racetrack white with snow and in background the Naval Academy.
“Scali delle Cantine” seen from “Piazza della Repubblica”.
The monument to Garibaldi, in his namesake square, is surrounde by the snow.
The “Capitana” bastion of the “Fortezza Vecchia”.
Monument to Leopold II of Tuscany and church of “San Benedetto” in “Piazza XX Settembre”.
“Piazza della Repubblica” in the early afternoon.
