Livorno

This was an easy itinerary to manage after Rome. With GPS locked and loaded, we drove out of Livorno to Florence, picked the best to see and then left for Tuscany. Breads, and Chianti, were taken in the Monterinaldi winery. We headed out of Tuscany down to Lucca to have a look at the Field of Dreams, Tower of Pisa, and Tintoretto’s Last Supper. The Tower leans far more than photo’s portray. A slow roll back to the ship, day done !

Livorno is Italy’s third largest seaport and is all about access to Florence, Pisa and Tuscany winery area. This is the home of the Renaissance and the Medici family with Florence as the jewel of that Renaissance. Piazzale Michelangelo, the Palazzo Vecchio, and Brunelleschi’s Cathedral Dome are complete examples of the period. Florence is also the home of the statue of David at the Academia of Fine Arts. There are finer, more accessible, examples of Michelangelo’s marble work at the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo, just around the corner.

Lucca is an intact walled Roman City. The walls were to defend against the evil citizens of Livorno up the road. The rivalry still exists today. We walked the city, popped in for a look at “The Last Supper”, tasted the local Rose’ and headed for Pisa.

The Tower of Pisa is one of three buildings and the only one unstable despite the others being much larger. Three architects were hired and fired in its construction. The first level leans and the second and third levels are straight to compensate.

This pilgrimage through the roots of culture and civilisation has left me suffering from Stendhal Syndrome, dizzy and overwhelmed by the magnitude, volume and genius of our heritage. A form of cultural indigestion………..