Situation
Livorno (traditionally known in English as Leghorn), chief town of its province and Tuscany's principal port, lies 20km/12.5mi south of Pisa on the edge of the alluvial cone deposited by the Arno.
History
Faced with the present-day city of Livorno
, with its industrial installations and modern buildings, it is easy to forget that this is a town with a long history. First mentioned in the records in 904, it was for long the port for Pisa, but after the Pisans' defeat in 1405 it passed into the hands of the Genoese, who sold it to Florence in 1421 for 100,000 gold florins. The Médici then fortified the town and in 1571 constructed a new harbor and at the same time laid out a new town. Livorno thereafter enjoyed a rapid upsurge of prosperity, and by the end of the 18th century had become the largest town in Tuscany after Florence. During the Second World War the town suffered heavy damage, particularly to its historic buildings, and now preserves only a few buildings of any age. Livorno was the birthplace of the painter Amedeo Modigliani (1844-1920) and the composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945).
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