Livorno

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

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.

Map of Italy showing Livorno in the northwest

Livorno is the birthplace of:

• Mario Ancona (1860-1931), operatic baritone
• Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942), painter
• Giorgio Caproni (1912-1990), poet
• Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (born 1920), statesman
• Galeazzo Ciano (1903-1944), fascist politician
• 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
• Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), financier, philanthropist in Britain
• Alfredo Muller (1869-1940), artist
• Angiolo Tommasi (1858-1923), artist

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