Coro Garibaldi d'Assalto

Last Friday the “Coro Garibaldi d'Assalto” (Garibaldi Assault Choir) was ready to salute the marchers of ARTEesistenza on their arrival in Piazza Cavour. The repertoire of the group comprises Tuscan folk music and songs of struggle and protest from the Risorgimento to the Resistenza.

The group was formed last Autumn after a series of lessons about folk singing at El Chico Malo social center. Pardo Fornaciari, political activist, musician and singer-songwriter, is the creator and leader of the choir.

The choir accompanied our demonstrators from Piazza Cavour to the Goldoni Theater and parted after a last performance of “Bella ciao”.

See also: ARTEesistenza
External links: Coro Garibaldi d'Assalto - Testimoniare cantando (Documentary in Italian)

Versione italiana

Bluesmobile

In the same bar where is on display the Elektra espresso machine, you can see a Bluesmobile.

External links: Bluesmobile (Wikipedia)
See also: Elektra

Versione italiana

Tony's White Night

The White Night is that time when you are forced to live in a night of the zombies without the killings, but with most of the people around you even clumsier and less awake of the living dead. With scooters.

We have already seen this place in Old and New: the most interesting thing of the new building is a locally well-known musical instruments store called Tony or Music City.

With the White Night the owners invited customers and friends to perform in front of the shop. They were a lot, of quite different ages, and played very different music. You had only to remember that our wandering zombies like to take pictures with the most improbable devices and angles, but always in front of you.

Later in the night, with fewer sleepwalkers around, even the music was getting very, very good...

See also: Old and New - White Night

Versione italiana

ArteEsistenza

ARTEesistenza (art existence) was a three-day series of events held around the city, culminating in a Friday afternoon walk from the Terrazza Mascagni to Town Hall. Some stops with street shows had been planned in significant places like Piazza Cavour, Piazza della Repubblica and in front of the Goldoni Theater.

The scope was to make aware the local public of the sorry state of the culture in Livorno with the closure of theaters, the transformation of cinemas into multi-storey parkings and the inaccessibility and neglect of many monuments and historical buildings.

The participation was not too good, but was enthusiastic nonetheless, especially from young dance-school students. The demonstration was organized by Ephraim Pepe.

See also: Terrazza Mascagni - Piazza Cavour - Teatro Goldoni - Piazza della Repubblica - Town Hall

Versione italiana

1800-Euro Sign

After removing the traffic signs modified at the time by Clet Abraham, the municipality of Livorno sold a first lot of them on eBay. These are the final prices, after the auctions ended:

Cartello stradale Rif N.40	660 Euro
Cartello stradale Rif N.43	725 Euro
Cartello stradale Rif N.46	313 Euro
Cartello stradale Rif N.58	1805 Euro

Search labels: Clet Abraham
External links: Clet Abraham (Wikipedia, in French) - The language of the street signs by Clet Abraham (Abitare)

Versione italiana

Salubritatem aegris corporibus

On the facade of the “Acquarium” we can read a Latin inscription referring to the waters available inside: salubritatem aegris corporibus afferre creduntur (are believed to bring good health to sick bodies). It is a quote from “de Aquaeductu Urbis Romae”, written by Sextus Julius Frontinus, the water commissioner (curator aquarum) for the City of Rome in A.D. 97. The TV antenna is of a later period.

External links: Frontinus (Wikipedia) - de Aquaeductu Urbis Romae by Sestus Iulius Frontinus (in Latin)
Search labels: spa
See also: The Waters of Health - The Beauty of Decay - Parco delle Terme - The Waters of Health: Hallway - Spa Terrace - Hall of the Five Waters - Acquarium

Versione italiana

Behind Bars

This portrait of a very composed dog is our out-of-jurisdiction photo for this week. It was shot in Lucca, in Piazza San Martino, in March 2012.

Versione italiana

Aethalia

With both her ramps opens, you can literally see through the “Aethalia” ferry...

“Aethalia” comes from the Ancient Greek name (Αἰθαλία) for the Elba island. (Photos taken last March)

Search labels: ferry

Versione italiana

Waste of Money

I am not a fan of bike sharing because I think the service has substantial hidden costs and even in the most succesful cases it is used only by a tiny fraction of a city's population. In Livorno that fraction seems to be zero, for an announced cost of 127.000 Euro.

After eight months it is clear beyond any doubt that nobody uses these bicycles. I have asked around over and over, and no one I know has ever seen one of these things in motion. Even our otherwise hyperactive bicycle thieves and the many restless vandals keep neglecting them.

See also: Five-Thousand-Euro Bicycles - Bike Sharing - A Diabolical Endeavour

Versione italiana

Church of Saint Julia

The modest church of Santa Giulia, dedicated to the patron saint of Livorno, sits on the left of the Cathedral and can barely be seen from Piazza Grande. The works for the building began in 1602, under the direction of the Florentine architect Alessandro Pieroni. The original and beautifully carved coffered ceiling was lost in the devastation of the Second World War. A well-known Livornese saying says “Santa Giula fa l'elemosina al Duomo” (Saint Julia is giving alms to the Cathedral), and it is used to describe someone of modest means buying something for a better-off friend. (Picture taken last April)

See also: Saint Julia

Versione italiana

Old and New

The corner of Scali degli Olandesi with Via Maggi in a 1907 postcard

The old corner building was replaced many years ago by a taller and more modern one

(Postcard digitized from the collection of Antonio Cantelli)

Search labels: postcard
See also: Scali degli Olandesi - Via Maggi

Versione italiana

Pale Green Windows

Via Castelli: composition of windows. (Picture taken last March)

Versione italiana

Destroyed Ghost Bike

Our ‘ghost bike’ didn't last. It appeared last November, but it is already almost destroyed and severed in two parts: it seems that our sidewalks are even more dangerous than our streets...

See also: Ghost Bike
External links: Bicycle Art (Inspiration Green) - Ghost bike (Wikipedia)
Search labels: bicycle art

Versione italiana

Elektra

This is not a Belle Époque version of R2-D2, the little robot from Star Wars, but an old model of an Elektra, the legendary copper and brass espresso machine, on display in a bar in Pisa.

External links: Elektra espresso machines (Wikipedia) - Elektra (Official site)

Versione italiana

Big Screen

On the cruise ship “Sea Princess” you can (or are obliged to) watch football (soccer) games on the sundeck.
Ciel and Lorenzo Rossi observed that this is not football but rugby...

Search labels: cruise ship
External links: Sea Princess (Wikipedia)

Versione italiana

Camouflaged 500

An unusual Fiat 500 parked on Scali Saffi.

Search labels: car - Smart

Versione italiana

Market Panorama

Taking pictures from my terrace is quite convenient, especially in summer. Obviously the only subject available, with the exception of passing aircraft and resting gulls, is the Mercato Centrale (Central Market).

Stitching photos together to make a panorama is something new to me and this is one of my first efforts, concocted from three different and slightly overlapping shots.

This other image was made from five shots taken at dusk from different points of view and merged using another Photoshop layout.

See also: Mercato Centrale
Search labels: Mercato Centrale

Versione italiana

Acquarium

The “Acquarium” was part of the east wing of the The Waters of Health complex and it is still linked to the main building by curved porticoes. Its main attraction was the Hall of the Five Waters.

The Waters of Health, a view of the “Acquarium”, June 2013

The Waters of Health, a view of the “Acquarium”, 1909

(Postcard digitized from the collection of Antonio Cantelli)

Search labels: spa - postcard
See also: The Waters of Health - The Beauty of Decay - Parco delle Terme - The Waters of Health: Hallway - Spa Terrace - Hall of the Five Waters

Versione italiana

Oranges

An orange tree in Via Borsi, a view not so common in town...

See also: After Christmas - Fruits & Flowers

Versione italiana

Games & Talent

The colorful rolling shutter of a video games shop in Via Sardi.

This shop in Piazza XX Settembre sells accessories for young girls.

Versione italiana

Mealtime

There are a lot of people people who love animals unconditionally, but don't count me in that number.
Some lady habitually leaves food for these gulls just in front of the Benci elementary school, against precise regulations, without good sense and with scarce respect for hygiene.

Search labels: gull

Versione italiana

Costa Concordia

Here is the “Costa Concordia” wreck just outside Giglio Porto, on the Isola del Giglio. We are not in Livorno and we are even outside our province, but the Costa Concordia disaster happened inside the area of the Livorno MRSC (Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre).

(Photo by Alessia, July 2012)

External links: Costa Concordia disaster - Coast Guard - Isola del Giglio (Wikipedia)

Versione italiana

Alien Garbage

Livorno is a city so neat and clean that scenes like this one are absolutely rare. Obviously out-of-towners are behind this: probably Pisans or aliens from deep space who are getting rid of their garbage here, out of envy of our spotless streets.

Versione italiana

Christian Frederik and Caroline Amalie

Christian Frederik (1786-1848) was the crown prince of Denmark when, in May 1821, visited Livorno with his wife, the princess Caroline Amalie (1796-1881). He will become king in 1839.

This plaque was placed at the time in the hall of the house of the Consul of the Kingdom of Denmark, where the royal couple spent the night. I have been looking for this plaque for a while and I was finally able to find it with the help of my friend Stefano.

External links: Christian VIII of Denmark - Caroline Amalie (Wikipedia)

Versione italiana

Piazza Cavallotti

Buildings in Piazza Cavallotti in a photo of an unknown author, probably taken in the early 1960s

The right half of the building is still there (March 2013)

See also: Mascagni's Birthplace

Versione italiana

On Twitter

I know you were eagerly waiting for this: since last February the municipality of Livorno is on Twitter...

Versione italiana

Pink on Pink

Pink bicycle against a pink wall, Via delle Galere.

Search labels: bicycle art
External links: Bicycle Art

Versione italiana

Cat on a Balcony

A Pisan cat on a balcony, in via San Zeno.

Search labels: cat

Versione italiana

Italia and Vespucci

The sailship “Italia” moored at the Elba pier with the “Amerigo Vespucci” berthed at the Capitaneria pier. Just for comparison: the cruise ship in background is the 238-meter-long “MS Riviera”.

See also: Amerigo Vespucci - Swan fan Makkum - Nave Italia
External links: MS Riviera (Wikipedia)
Search labels: Amerigo Vespucci

Versione italiana

Candle Holder Cage

Who can do without a candle holder cage?

Versione italiana

Theme Day: Facade

Detail of the facade of the “Palazzo delle Colonne di marmo” (Palace of the Marble Columns) in Via Borra.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

See also: Palazzo delle Colonne di marmo

Versione italiana