Livorno

Livorno, sometimes in English Leghorn, (population 170,000) is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy.

History

Livorno was born as a small village inhabited by fishers. An important area under the Medici in the Renaissance with many important landmarks from the 16th century, Livorno was enlarged at the end of the 18th century by Leopold II, who also opened the city to foreign merchants. It became a free port under Ferdinand I from 1590, and remained such until 1860, when it became part of the Kingdom of Italy. During World War II, Livorno received moderate damage, including to a historic cathedral and synagogue. It is home to a naval academy.

Notable people born in Livorno

Livorno is the birthplace of:

• Mario Ancona (1860-1931), opera baritone
• Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), painter
• Giorgio Caproni (1912-1990), poet
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (born 1920), President of Italy
• Piero Ciampi (1934-1980), musician
• Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs during the fascist regime
• Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908), painter
• Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi (1804-1873), writer and politician
• Cristiano Lucarelli (born 1975), soccer player
• Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945), opera composer
• Matteo Mazzantini (born 1976), star rugby player
• Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), painter and sculptor
• Aldo Montano (born 1978), fencer, Olympic gold medal
• Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), financier, philanthropist in Britain
• Alfredo Muller (1869-1940), artist
• Armando Picchi (1935-1971), footballer, football manager
• Angiolo Tommasi (1858-1923), artist

Culture

The "Monumento ai 4 Mori" is one of the most important monuments of Livorno.

Politically, Livorno is one of the most left-leaning cities of Italy.

There is a breed of chicken called leghorn, named after the city. This in turn gave its name to the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.

The Communist Party of Italy was founded in Livorno 21 January 1921.

Livorno has a football team in Serie A, A.S. Livorno Calcio.

Inhabitants of Livorno are referred to as "Livornese" (Italian: Livornesi or poetically Labronici).

Livorno inhabitants speak a colourful variant of the Tuscanian dialect of Italy named vernacolo, which is especially characterized by the popular interjection deh (often spelt also dè).

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Livorno".

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