This is the oldest and most popular monument in Livorno, celebrating a victory of the
Medici over the
pirates who roamed the Mediterranean.
The statue of
Ferdinando I was sculpted in Carrara marble by the florentine Giovanni Bandini in 1595 but placed on its plinth only in 1617, under the rule of his son
Cosimo II.
The “Quattro Mori” (Four Moors), by
Pietro Tacca from Carrara, were added later, in couples, between 1623 and 1626. The artist used two real prisoners as models, rewarded with freedom at the end of the pose.
To make way for a new road, in 1861 the monument was moved back 20 meters to its present position facing the Darsena (the oldest part of the port).
During the last war the statues were transported for safekeeping to the countryside, to protect them from the Allied air raids.
(Updated February 2010)
The “Terrazza Mascagni” is an elegant promenade by the sea with a wonderful view over the Tyrrhenian sea and the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago. It was built in the 1920's and named “Terrazza Ciano” after Costanzo Ciano, the local fascist leader and father of Galeazzo Ciano, who in 1930 married Mussolini's daughter Edda.
This shop in “Via Palestro” has probably the most colourful roller shutter door in town. The sign says: fruit and vegetables, Mimmo's, pet food. In the rest of Italy you will probably read “cibo” instead of "mangiare" which is not wrong, but a little too vernacular.
This is the oldest and most popular monument in Livorno, celebrating a victory of the Medici over the pirates who roamed the Mediterranean.
The statue of Ferdinando I was sculpted in Carrara marble by the florentine Giovanni Bandini in 1595 but placed on its plinth only in 1617, under the rule of his son Cosimo II.
The “Quattro Mori” (Four Moors), by Pietro Tacca from Carrara, were added later, in couples, between 1623 and 1626. The artist used two real prisoners as models, rewarded with freedom at the end of the pose.
To make way for a new road, in 1861 the monument was moved back 20 meters to its present position facing the Darsena (the oldest part of the port).
During the last war the statues were transported for safekeeping to the countryside, to protect them from the Allied air raids.
Walking around the “Porto Mediceo” we found this colorful boat: it seems to be straight out of a cartoon!
