Livornese

Livorno is an old Renaissance town, built around a fortress in the 16th century by the Medici family; its territory is mainly on the coast, characterized by the sea and the cliffs, creating a fascinating landscape until Piombino. The town […]

Livorno is an old Renaissance town, built around a fortress in the 16th century by the Medici family; its territory is mainly on the coast, characterized by the sea and the cliffs, creating a fascinating landscape until Piombino.

The town was at first a fishing village, but during the centuries it was transformed into an important harbour on the Tyrrhenian coast, a central port for tourism and commerce as well. Today it is a renown production centre for alabaster, wicker handicraft, pottery and goldsmith’s art.

In the district we find the valley Val di Cornia, with the towns Campiglia Marittima, Suvereto, Piombino, Sassetta and San Vincenzo, a famous area for wine production: Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese.

Because of these important vineyards (already well known during the Etruscan times) the whole area has been called “Wine road – Etruscan coast” (i.e. Strada dei vini – Costa degli etruschi).

Several nature parks are included in the area between the sea coast and the valley Val di Cornia by Piombino: the archaeological park of Baratti and Populonia in Piombino; the archaeological and mineral park of San Silvestro in Campiglia Marittima; the coast park of Ripigliano by San Vincenzo and the archaeological park of San Vincenzino in Cecina.

The district is rich in history and cultural places, like Castagneto Carducci, Bibbona with its parish church Sant’Ilario, Cecina and Rosignano Marittimo, and this richness rivals other – even more important – Tuscan centres.