Angolo del Buono

The “Angolo del Buono” (Corner of the Good), inside the Mercato Centrale.
L'Angolo del Buono, all'interno del Mercato Centrale.

Place d'Italie?

Exactly a month after the “Mercatino Americano” left “Piazza XX Settembre”, and after weeks of polemics about the abandoned stalls, the old shanty town is being torn to pieces.Like many Livornesi of my age or younger, I have never seen this square as it was: a tree lined “piazza” in front of the church of “San Benedetto”. In the meantime many trees were lost, but we gained a statue of an unlucky Grand Duke.Several ideas were floated for the reborn square: residents would like more parking space, while some brilliant minds would like to transform it in a place d'Italie “like the square in Paris”.

[Place d'Italie, 13e arrondissement, from Bing Maps]

I guess they have never been in Paris or simply remember the wrong place, without ever bothering to check it out.A lone stall keeper has, since now, refused to move and is still displaying his merchandise amidst the ongoing demolition.

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Effetto Venezia

“Effetto Venezia” (Venice Effect) has nothing to do with the Venice on the Lagoon, whose canals are crossed by cute gondolas.Our Venice is only a quarter of Livorno crossed by “fossi”, which could do as canals, and some years ago, in a bout of bad taste, some bright mind even imported a real gondola.This kind of festival lasts about a week with concerts, stalls, boat tours at night and dining “al fresco” along the canals.Tourists and many Livornesi like it, but probably you have already guessed that I don't. Too much chaos for too many days, incensed local residents, cars and scooters parked everywhere.I don't want to spoil all the fun: it is something really different and probably most of you would like it. They even open some churches at night for the occasion.

Search labels: Effetto Venezia

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Mercatino Americano

The “Mercatino Americano” (american market) changes location. It has been in “Piazza XX Settembre” for almost sixty years and today open its new stalls inside the port area. These absolutely fresh photos show that, the day first of the opening, works are still in progress.The market thrived soon after the last war with the opening of Camp Darby, the large American base in Tombolo, between Livorno and Pisa. In the first years much stuff arrived straightly from the base, in a way or the other, or from the port, usually in the other way. Some contraband was sold here, along with counterfeit tapes.In the 70's people came from all over Italy to buy stuff there, the most frequent question a Livornese was asked by a tourist was: where is the “Mercatino Americano”? Gradually the market specialized in army surplus, camping gear and clothes, with the late addition of electronics and cell phones.Its glory days were way over and many stalls were already closed, the rest are reopening today afternoon in this new area.

See also: Forlorn Gran Duke - Nuovo Mercatino Americano

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Glass Fishes

“Canned” photos again, this time of a couple of schools of glass fishes, seen last April at the TAN village market.

Making Of

These are our last images of the “Fiera di Sant'Antonino”, where we shall reveal the secret devices behind the production of two delicious sweets: “brigidini” and “croccante”, already described in our post Primavera a Colline.Two different “brigidini” machines are at work in plain sight at different stalls. The first model is attended by a lady swiftly packing the waffles, the other is working in full automatic.
A Tuscan term for a sweet maker or seller is “chiccaio”, or the maker of “chicchi” (sweets, pronounced something like keekkee). Again in plain sight a “chiccaio” is preparing some “croccante” mixing nuts and caramel in a copper pot.This time the copper pot is motor driven, leaving the “chiccaio” a more relaxed task smoothing and cutting the hot mix.

Porchetta & Lampredotto

The most typical food at markets, fairs and festivals is the “porchetta” or roasted suckling pig, originally from Lazio, but now considered a national dish. It is even found in Italian neighborhoods in the States, where it is called pulled pork.Following the traditional recipe, “porchetta” is made by deboning a little piglet, dousing it in salt, stuffing it with its own liver, garlic, rosemary, fennel seeds and other herbs. It is then rolled up and slowly roasted whole, usually over a wood fire. The meat is then sliced thinly and served cold on unsalted bread.Although widespread throughout Tuscany, “lampredotto” is a traditional Florentine tripe dish, made of the stomach and intestine parts of baby calves. Served with vegetables and a green parsley sauce, it is traditionally eaten with Tuscan unsalted bread. Before cooking, the meat is sliced and fried in a big saucepan along with all the other ingredients, so that the beef soaks in all the different flavours.Anyway if you don't feel like eating sliced pigs or tripe, cold cuts, cheeses and generous servings of “patatine” (french fries) are easily found almost everywhere.

Fair Wares

Sweets are peculiar but many other wares for sale at the fair are probably not so different all around the world. If you like something funny and useless, this is the place. Do you want your name on it? They'll write it on the spot.Everywhere are hanging colorful and improbable windmill toys, we even saw one with a wheeled cow speeding in the breeze.You could also buy monsters figurines or any kind of fantastic creatures, with the relative castles or dwellings.

Sant'Antonino Fair

The “Fiera di Sant'Antonino” is the most popular fair in Livorno. It takes place every year on June 12 and 13, morning to midnight, in a zone called “Fiorentina”, by the name of the gate where the ancient road to Florence started.About two hundred stalls are lined up selling various wares, foods and sweets. With this post we are going to show you some sweets: “zucchero filato” is the Italian for cotton candy.
We already introduced you to the “brigidini” in our post “Primavera a Colline”, and probably most of you will already know the “torrone”, a delicacy originally from Cremona, Lombardy. You can see another popular summer refreshment in the foreground: “cocco fresco” (fresh sliced coconut).The “marzapane” (marzipan) is a typical Sicilian sweet which has found a second home in Tuscany. It's always shaped and painted to resemble miniature real fruit.
You have seen much of Livorno and so it's time for you to meet some real Livornesi, like this crowd marching through the fair. It's late afternoon, not much young people around.

See also: Primavera a Colline
External links: Torrone - Marzipan (Wikipedia)

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Theme Day: Feet

For your feet, in different sizes and colours.

These colorful flip-flops are made in Brazil, I think they are called Havaianas and were on sale at the TAN village last month.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Primavera a Colline

“Colline” is a quarter of Livorno, its name literally means “hills” and it is obviously placed in one of the flattest part of the city. This year they are starting a “Primavera a Colline” (spring in Colline) week, when it is almost already summer.This is always an occasion for some photos of the usual things you can find at these fairs: balloons, market stalls and food.
The “croccante” (crisp, crunchy) is our local version of brittle, with various kind of nuts and caramel available.
The “brigidini” of Lamporecchio are sweet thin waffles made with flour, egg, sugar and a bit of anise. Legend says that these sweets came out from a kitchen mistake and made the fortune of this small town near Pistoia. Usually sold already packaged, sometimes “brigidini” are cooked on the spot on waffle irons.

Doll Lighthouse

Tired of dollhouses? Try a lighthouse. This is from “L'Arte di Creare” (The Art of Creating), a local shop, and was on display at the “village” of the TAN.

Suvereto's Wines

Some more images from the canvas “village” of the TAN, inside the Porto Mediceo. This “elegant” waitress advertises a tasting of the renowned wines from Suvereto.Crews of the J24 yachts at work before a race. On the left the mizzen mast of the training ship “Palinuro” is misteriously erupting dark smoke.The restaurant inside the “village”. Several other eateries serve less formal but usually delicious food and refreshment.

Nautilus

Every year for the TAN a set of large white canvas tents sprouts in the Porto Mediceo. This “village” is full of shops selling anything related to sailing and something more.This is a display of “Nautilus”, a shop based in Bordighera specialized in seashells, fossils and minerals.

Hair Brushes & Fake Flowers

Yesterday, walking home from work, I found some stalls in “Via della Madonna” and just can't resist taking some pictures. A basket of initial personalized hair brushes and a bunch of quite realistic fake flowers are my favorites.

Forlorn Grand Duke

This is a monument to Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, by the Livornese sculptor Paolo Emilio Demi (1798-1863). The statue was damaged in the riots of 1849, kept in storage for about a century and then placed in “Piazza XX Settembre” in the years after the Second World War. Today it is sadly seen among the decrepit stalls of the “Mercatino Americano” (American Market), soon to be trasferred inside the area of the port.

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Cavallotti Square

“Piazza Cavallotti” is our main open air market for fruits and vegetables, where vendors holler here and there offering their produce for the best price in town.
Here, in a building now replaced by more recent one, the composer Pietro Mascagni was born in 1863.

See also: Mascagni vs Puccini