Pumpkins

“Harborea” was not only about flowers...

... but also about pumpkins!

Harborea 2015 - The Roses of Florence - Il Buco nel Legno - Garden Animals - Bee Houses - Birds and Bugs

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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Naturalia 2015

A few images from the fifth edition of “Naturalia”, an expo about “100% natural ideas”. Here you can see an assortment of hand made hard bar soaps, where the star is Aleppo soap.
White sage, “used by Native Americans for purification”, and raw cinnamon sticks.

External links: Aleppo soap (Wikipedia)
See also: Naturalia - Himalayan Salt Lamps - Teas and Infusions - Made of Cork

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Road Barrier

I saw this road barrier in Via della Cinta Esterna: I would say that its aspect is at least ambiguous...

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MS Berlin

Last Wednesday the cruise ship “Berlin” disembarked three hundred cyclists, who then went for a tour to Pisa.
I missed this part, but I was able to watch the quite laborious reloading of the bicycles on the ship.

External links: FTI Cruises (Official site)
Search labels: cruise ship

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Birds and Bugs

A few more garden animals, still at “Harborea”: a common kingfisher has already caught a fish.
A couple of ladybugs (or ladybirds) and a butterfly

Harborea 2015 - The Roses of Florence - Il Buco nel Legno - Garden Animals - Bee Houses

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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Lorenzo Fratellini

We have already seen the busts and the reliefs of our Council chamber, today we are looking at its only painting. It is a large oil on canvas (cm 165 x 255) titled “Veduta di Livorno dalla parte del Fanale” (View of Livorno from the side of the Lighthouse) dated in the first half of the 18th century and attributed to the Florentine painter Lorenzo Fratellini.

External links: Lorenzo Fratellini (Wikipedia)
See also: Town Hall - Footbridge with a View - City Council - The Busts in the Council - The Reliefs in the Council - The Chandelier

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Piazza Magenta

It should be “Piazza della Vittoria” (Victory Square), but they keep calling this square with its old name: “Piazza Magenta”.
Some maintenance works are already started and were much needed: on the left you can see the sorry state of a path last Sunday, on the right how it was three days after.

See also: Fallen - Santa Maria del Soccorso - Piazza della Vittoria - Winged Victory

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Birdman

Usually it would be hard to call a friend someone who you have never met, but this was not the case with our fellow blogger Birdman, from Portland, Maine. Sadly I am saying ‘was’ because, as most of us already know, he passed away suddenly last Sunday. Here you can read his last post, brilliant as always. May he rest in peace, we will miss his stories and his comments.

External links: Obituary of Mark L. Norton (The Portland Press Herald)

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Bee Houses

We have already seen many flowers at the last edition of “Harborea”, but there was a lot of garden-related items.
Some of these curiosities were several types of bee houses.

Harborea 2015 - The Roses of Florence - Il Buco nel Legno - Garden Animals - Birds and Bugs

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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The Bridge is Working!

The new footbridge to the Fortezza Vecchia is working. Here you can see it from the Porta del Duca toward the Scalo Regio: I have just crossed it and the bridge is now opening to let a boat pass.

Assembling the Bridge - Waiting for the Bridge - The New Bridge

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See also: Fortezza Vecchia - Piazza dei Grani - Scalo Regio - Porta del Duca
Search labels: Fortezza Vecchia

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HMS Ocean

The “HMS Ocean” (L12) is an amphibious assault ship and, since last June, the Royal Navy Fleet Flagship.
One of the four Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVPs) embarked, and one of the four Phalanx CIWS.

You may have noticed this ship on her Olympic duty when, moored at Greenwich, she provided logistics support and was used as helicopter landing site during the London 2012 Olympic Games.

External links:
HMS Ocean - Amphibious assault ship - LCVP - Phalanx CIWS - Royal Navy Fleet Flagship (Wikipedia)

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Garden Animals

An interesting choice of garden animals, still at “Harborea”: the squirrel is nice, but a bit scary...
The hares are funny, but my favorite is the tortoise.

Harborea 2015 - The Roses of Florence - Il Buco nel Legno - Bee Houses - Birds and Bugs

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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The Bank in the Container

The local branch of a bank is undergoing some works and it is ready to operate temporarily from a container of sorts placed in Piazza Attias.
After complaints from some shop owners the structure, now painted in white, was moved to the back of the square.

See also: Piazza Attias - The Big Red A - The New Attias - A Like Attias

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Google Maps Car

The Google Maps Camera Car was again in Livorno last Friday.

Here it is, already in action, on Scali Finocchietti.

See also: Google Maps Camera Car
External links: Google Street View (Wikipedia)

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Nine Arrows

Nine “Frecce Tricolori” (Tricolor Arrows) awaiting for the soloist, during the Livorno Air Show 2015, which took place just two months ago at the Terrazza Mascagni. (Photo taken last August)

See also: Frecce Tricolori - Livorno Air Show 2015 - Terrazza Mascagni
External links: Frecce Tricolori (Wikipedia)

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Il Buco nel Legno

We are still posting about the last Harborea: “Il Buco nel Legno” (The Hole in the Wood) makes bird houses.
The shapes are unusual and the colors quite eye-catching, but not too much.

Harborea 2015 - The Roses of Florence - Garden Animals - Bee Houses - Birds and Bugs

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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New Paradise Bike

A windmill toy outside a bicycle shop in Via Roma. No doubt that this is bicycle art...

Search labels: bicycle art
External links: Bicycle Art (Inspiration Green)
See also: Wind Force

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M/S Panorama

“Panorama” or “Pan Orama” is a 54-meter three-masted sailing ship that can accommodate up to 49 passengers in 24 cabins, with a crew of 16. (This photo was taken last August)
The ship, launched in 1993, was renovated in 2008 and again refurbished in 2014.

Search labels: cruise ship - sailship

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The Roses of Florence

“Le Rose di Firenze” (The Roses of Florence) is the name of a flower nursery which was present at “Harborea”.
They are actually from Scandicci, near Florence, but the roses are gorgeous nonetheless.

Harborea 2015 - Il Buco nel Legno - Garden Animals - Bee Houses - Birds and Bugs

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See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea

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A New Piazza del Municipio

As promised, here is the new part of Piazza del Municipio, just in front of the Palazzo Comunale.
The Palazzo Granducale, and a view from the staircase of the Palazzo Comunale.

Work in Progress - The Other Half - Four Palms

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Town Hall - Palazzo Granducale - Piazza del Municipio - Municipal Building - Town Hall Facade

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Ligorni

A detail of a portolan chart of the Mediterranean Sea dated around 1500-1600. You can find Livorno (here spelled Ligorni) and slightly on the south you can see a small village called Vada, which happens to be my birthplace. The link to the original chart is on the website of the Biblioteca Nacional de España (National Library of Spain).

External links: Portolan chart - Biblioteca Nacional de España - Marcus Antonius Coccius Sabellicus (Wikipedia)
- Cartas portulanas en la Biblioteca Nacional de España (Biblioteca Nacional de España)

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Harborea 2015

It is again time of “Harborea”, the an annual garden fair organized by the Garden Club Livorno at Villa Mimbelli. The theme of the fifth edition is still: “Festa delle Piante e dei Giardini d'Oltremare” (Festival of the Plants and Gardens from Overseas).
You can see, and eventually buy, an interesting assortment of plants and garden-related merchandise.

Next week we will see something more of this interesting event...

The Roses of Florence - Il Buco nel Legno - Garden Animals - Bee Houses - Birds and Bugs

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More photos: Harborea 2015 (Facebook album)
See also: Harborea - The Flowers of Harborea - The Animals of Harborea - Bee Houses
External links: Harborea (Official website, in Italian)

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