SEAPORT OF THE MED

The busy Italian seaport of Livorno (Leghorn) is located on the western coast of Tuscany, built around a small natural inlet on the Ligurian Sea, and enclosed by the Livornesi Hills and the Apennino mountain range. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic times, but was named during the Roman era after ‘liburna’, a type of sailing vessel. The settlement was destroyed in 1284 during the battle of Meloria.

During the rule of Lucca it was a small coastal village, but was developed and fortified by the Pisans in 1403. Rebuilding took place under the Visconti of Milano and the Republics of Genova and Florence. The Florentines constructed the Fortezza Vecchia, and during the 1580s the port grew under the Medici family. The declaration of the town as a Freeport attracted