Subject: Report #107 Livorno, Italy April 16, 2016 Saturday Partly cloudy & 67 degrees Part #1 of 2 87 Pictures
The port of call for today was Livorno, Italy, although the main attraction here is Florence, Pisa, or Lucca. We have toured this area several times, and decided we would stay in Livorno instead, and see what is here.
Livorno has been an over-looked city, but has its hidden secrets. In the early days, this city was already a port with about 700 people. In 1606, the Medici family became prominent, and the city was given official status. In the heart of the city, is a most historic area built by the Medici family….a fortress built in 1521 to defend the port. The tower inside the fort dates back to 1077. Fortezza Nuevo is an island crossed by bridges and canals, making it similar to the canals of Venice. The city's wealthiest merchants had their homes here. Today, there are shops and restaurants lining the canal, which is full of small boats.
One of the oldest baroque church, St. Caterina de Siena was built in 1720. Its tall cupola is one of the landmarks of the Venizia district.
But first, we went to breakfast as usual, then went off of the ship by 11:30am. We only remember the barren terminal building in this port, because we have always been on all day tours. This time, we exited the building and caught the complimentary shuttle bus that took us to the center of town. By the way, we were not the only cruise ship here today. Silversea's Wind was moored across from us in the harbor, but a close walk to town for them. The Wind was christened in 1995, and is 17,400 gross ton four plus star luxury ship. She holds a maximum of 336 passengers, and it is all-inclusive. And from personal experience, we can say you are spoiled when you cruise on their vessels. Anyway, even though they could walk to the center of town, a shuttle bus was provided for them, just like for us.
We picked up the hop-on, hop-off bus schedule in the terminal, but it was in Italian. Once we got to the shuttle stop, we found the info building, and picked up some great maps with printed information. The challenge was trying to figure out the maps. Street names on the maps did not always match what we saw. So confusing to be buried in buildings and not know which direction to go.
It seemed like a plan to follow the majority of people who were walking towards Piazza Grande. Now we had a point that matched the map, and headed straight for the produce market. That led to the outdoor market of clothing and household items. It was here that we ran into Ellen and Aart who were supposed to be going to Lucca today. They appeared lost as well, since Ellen was questioning a pair of policemen, using her hands a whole lot, to get directions. Not sure they ever understood her. They were looking for a good pasta restaurant, while we were searching for a pizza place. At least we found this huge flea market. One small souvenir from this area was a beige leather handbag for the huge price of 10 Euro.
Continuing on, we located the rest of the covered market. This ancient building was made with glass and metal roofs, and houses the fresh produce, Kosher meats, bakery goods, and fish. This whole area was very crowded with folks buying their food and supplies for the upcoming weekend. A few vendors were selling knock-off bags and sunglasses, but were not too pushy.
Most all the cafes in this area were fast food pizzerias. By the time we walked everywhere looking for a suitable menu, most all of the cafes closed for the afternoon. Oh well, there is always the ship. There were a few cafes open along the waterfront, but they were pushing all types of seafood.
On the way back to the shuttle, we passed by Dolly, one of the most known ladies for many days on the ship. She made a comment when she passed us on the street, saying that our timing was good, because we would save a lot of money with everything closed. That's the wisdom for the day.
We came back to the ship by 3:30pm, and worked on photos after a nice panini in the Lido. The sail away on the aft deck was cancelled, and moved to the Crows Nest. Understandable, since it was very chilly with strong icy winds blowing across the decks. Just as the Amsterdam began swinging the bow around to sail out to sea, the Silversea's Wind left her berth, and sailed right past us. She was out to sea in minutes. By 7:30pm, we were out of the harbor, now sailing towards Monte Carlo at Monaco, the second smallest country in the world.
We both ordered a special salad of just tomatoes with romaine lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette and thousand island dressings. The best entrée was cordon bleu with sliced zucchini and potatoes. We shared a serving of lasagna. Dessert was cherry jello and one sugar free mint chip ice cream. With some chocolate syrup, With a wafer cookie. And that's it.
Too tired to see variety showtime in the Queens Lounge with Jesse Kazemek and The Lomax Brothers. So was everyone else. The nice thing is that we are finishing up with dinner by 9:30pm, so there is a ½ hour to kill before showtime. Hard to make it up that late, when the day began before 6am.
Bill & Mary Ann
Porto Mediceo of Livorno
A working port
Clear skies today, but breezy
Narrow outlet to the sea
Small boats in the harbor
Cruise Terminal in Livorno
Welcome
A sailboat
Nice way to spend a Saturday
Gangway on starboard side
The exit to Livorno
Maps for the hop-on, hop-off bus
Bus ride to town
The drop-off point was near a McDonalds
Looking for the Tourist Information Center
This is the place to catch the bus back
Piazza Grande
Many benches among the old buildings
Duomo
Follow this street
Many restaurants including McDonalds
Fancy shops on the main street
Marble walkways on Via Grande
Located the outdoor marketplace
Follow the locals to find shopping
Fresh produce
Healthy foods
Peppers, beets, and onions
Large variety of tomatoes
Tomatoes and eggplant
Melons, bananas, and fava beans
Locals shop for fresh produce daily
Buying for the weekend
Over 200 vendors
Oranges
Local shoppers
Salad fixings
Ripe roma tomatoes
Onions, potatoes, and kiwis
A variety of fish (slightly smelly)
Fresh fish
Fresh eggs were sold one by one at .25 Euro (about 27 cents- US)
Many Vespas in town
A variety of purses (I bought one)
Experienced buyers
A street musician
More treasures
Jewelry
Mercato Coperto – 19th century architecture
Houses tasty cuisine
Kosher meats
The button man
Wonderful way to purchase buttons
Treasures
Packaged foods
Outside food stalls
Covered mall
Make up shop
Church and clocktower
Canals leading to the Fortezza Nuova
Part of the fort walls
Apartments in Livorno
Little "Venice" of Livorno
Ancient doors and knockers
Typical side street
Pastel-painted buildings
Church of Santa Caterina (1755)
Church's dome is scaffolded
Inside the church & looking up
Quite beautiful ceiling murals
Church of marble and stone
A Baroque church in the Venezia district
Built in the 1700's
Designed by architect Palazzo Rosciano
Situated in the San Pietro fort
Following the canal streets
OK, where are we?
Easy to get lost
Very old buildings
Old canal walls and buildings
Clocktower and church
Laundry day
Waterfront
Many fishing boats
Many cafes and restaurants closed at 1:30pm
A ferry in the harbor
Outdoor eatery - closed
