Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Eyes, the Mouth

Bicycle lane sign with lipsticked mouth, Clet Abraham, piazza della Repubblica, LivornoSome more of Clet Abraham's imaginative stickers: a bicycle lane sign with a lipsticked mouth.No entry sign, guy with a handsaw, Clet Abraham, piazza della Repubblica, Livorno A guy with a handsaw at work on the bar of a no entry sign.

Search labels: Clet Abraham
External links: Clet Abraham (Wikipedia, in French) - The language of the street signs by Clet Abraham (Abitare)

Friday, March 30, 2012

Caffè Made in Italy

Caffè Made in Italy, via Gramsci, Livorno“Caffè Made in Italy” in “Via Gramsci” is not a cafe, but a wholesale distributor of coffee and coffee-related products. The logo on the sign is the stylized emblem of the Italian Republic.
Caffè Redi, via Redi, Livorno“Caffè Redi” is, well, in “Via Redi”

External links: Caffè Made in Italy (in Italian)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Pink House

A pink house in via delle Grazie, LivornoNot exactly the “Casa Rosada”, but a normal pink house in “Via delle Grazie”.

External links: Casa Rosada

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Angels & Demons

Angel, Clet Abraham, piazza della Repubblica, LivornoLet's see some more of Clet Abraham's work: an angel ...Devil with a trident, Clet Abraham, piazza della Repubblica, Livorno... and a demon in “Piazza della Repubblica”.

Search labels: Clet Abraham
External links: Clet Abraham (Wikipedia, in French) - The language of the street signs by Clet Abraham (Abitare)

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Donkey or Wild Boar?

Donkey and wild boar coppiette: strips of meat spiced and dried, food fair, LivornoFrom the last food fair in “Piazza XX Settembre”: donkey and wild boar “coppiette”, which are strips of aromatized meat that has been doubled on ropes for drying.

See also: Food Fair - Salami & Cheese - Sweets - Polenta - Hot Peppers - Drunken Cheese - Cassata and Cannoli

Monday, March 26, 2012

Clet Abraham

Turn left arrow with pierced heart, Clet Abraham, piazza del Municipio, LivornoThere is a guy who finds our traffic signs too dull and has devised a way to lighten them up with a few well placed and undamaging stickers.No entry sign with a guy carrying a huge beam, Clet Abraham, via Buontalenti, LivornoThe mind behind this is the French artist Clet Abraham, actually a Breton from Quimper, who lives and works in Florence.Roundabout sign with a running man inside, Clet Abraham, piazza Mazzini, LivornoHe has already “treated” signs in several cities across Europe and last week he happened to be in our town, leaving us with a few of his funny works.

Search labels: Clet Abraham
External links: Clet Abraham (Wikipedia, in French) - The language of the street signs by Clet Abraham (Abitare)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Tina Di Lorenzo and Armando Falconi

Tina Di Lorenzo and Armando Falconi wedding postcard, LivornoTina Di Lorenzo was born in Turin in 1872. Her father was a marquis and her mother an actress, but with a noble background herself. Tina's love for the stage begun at thirteen and she soon became one of the most famous theater actresses of the time. She was often on tour abroad and was well known even in Argentina, where she was called the Encantadora.
During a tournee in Hungary she fell in love with the fellow actor Armando Falconi, who also fought and won a duel in Budapest against a journalist to defend her reputation.
They choose to marry in Livorno, one of the coolest places of the time, and their wedding was also honored with the above postcard. Their son Dino, a writer and a director, was born in Livorno in 1902.

(1901 postcard digitized from the collection of Antonio Cantelli)
Search labels: postcard

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Cinema Metropolitan

New building where once was the Metroplitan movie theater, via Marradi, LivornoThe new building where once was the “Metropolitan” movie theater, in “Via Marradi”. We have already seen the space on the right as an example of a modern alley.

See also: Modern Alley - A Hole in the Roof - Cinema Odeon - La Gran Guardia - Cinema Moderno

Friday, March 23, 2012

Symmetry

Two bicycles locked in almost perfect symmetry, via Ricasoli, LivornoBicycles locked in an almost perfect symmetry in “Via Ricasoli”.

Search labels: bicycle art
External links: Bicycle Art

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Hard Times

Ape car loaded with scrap iron, LivornoLife has not been good to this Ape car in the last three years...Ape car sidewalk parking, LivornoThis is how I caught the same vehicle, in a far better shape and line of work, in May 2009.

See also: Sidewalk Parking - The Ape and the Palm Tree - Combat Ape

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Three-Story House

Superstructure of a large yacht, Benetti shipyard, LivornoIt looks like a three-story house (on wheels) but it is the superstructure of a large yacht in construction at the Benetti shipyard. I am sure that, when finished, it will provide quite comfortable living quarters for the lucky owners of this boat.

See also: I Dynasty - Superyachts - I Dynasty, in Norway - Giorgio Armani's Yacht - Imagination & Illusion - Prince Abdulaziz - Bistango & Reborn - Octopus - Bistango

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Via Greca

Hotel Gran Duca, via Generale Tellini, LivornoThe back of the Hotel Gran Duca on “Via Generale Enrico Tellini”. The street what was once called “Via Greca” (Greek Street), at least since 1784, because of the many shops owned by Greeks.Plaque of via Generale Enrico Tellini already via Greca, LivornoIn 1923 the Italian general Enrico Tellini, on a mission from the League of Nations to oversee a boundary dispute between Greece and Albania, was murdered with his staff near the border, presumably by Greek nationalists. This event escalated quickly in a diplomatic crisis leading to the Corfu incident ... and to the street name change.

See also: Hotel Gran Duca
External links: Enrico Tellini - Corfu incident (Wikipedia)

Monday, March 19, 2012

Iron and Rust

Detail of the fanlight window above a front door in, LivornoDetail of the fanlight window above a front door in “Piazza della Vittoria”.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

Royal Yacht Jela

Royal Yacht Jela, Porto Mediceo, LivornoThe Royal Yacht “Jela” moored inside the “Porto Mediceo” in Livorno. The 47-meter boat was built in 1891 in Port Glasgow, at the D.J. Dunlop shipyard, with the name of “Mira”. In 1896 the yacht was used for the honeymoon of Prince Vittorio Emanuele of Savoy and Elena of Montenegro (Jelena Petrović-Njegoš). “Jela” was the short for Jelena.
On 29 July 1900, king Umberto I was shot to death in Monza by the Italian-American anarchist Gaetano Bresci. Vittorio Emanuele was on a cruise on board the “Jela” when he received the news of the death of his father, becoming king himself. The yacht was sunk in the port of Bari during the Second World War by RAF aircraft.
(Postcard dated around 1901, digitized from the collection of Antonio Cantelli)

Search labels: postcard

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Grandma Duck's Farm

Il Pentagramma, The Staff, osteria, inn, via Garibaldi, LivornoThe curious sign of “Il Pentagramma” (The Staff), an “osteria” (inn) in “Via Garibaldi”.Liquidi e solidi, Liquids and Solids, restaurant, via dell'Angiolo, LivornoWe have already seen the simple sign of a restaurant in “Via dell'Angiolo”. The sign has been changed recently and now says: “Liquidi e solidi” (Liquids and Solids).La fattoria di Nonna Papera, Grandma Duck's Farm, restaurant, via dell'Angiolo, LivornoJust opposite, on the same street, we have another restaurant: “La fattoria di Nonna Papera” (Grandma Duck's farm).

Friday, March 16, 2012

On the Ramparts

Fortezza Vecchia, Old Fortress, Mastio di Matilde, LivornoVisitors on the walls of the “Fortezza Vecchia” (Old Fortress). On the left the “Mastio di Matilde” (Matilda's Keep) with the Florentine fleur-de-lis.

See also: Fortezza Vecchia - Mastio di Matilde - Fleur-de-lis

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Cinema Moderno

Demolition of the Moderno movie theater, LivornoWorks for the demolition of another former movie theater have recently bugun. The “Moderno” will soon have a new life as a parking, which is not much, but always better than what it was recently left of it.

See also: A Hole in the Roof - Cinema Odeon - La Gran Guardia

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Mobi Aki

Moby Aki ferry, IMO 9299393, LivornoThe “Moby Aki” is another sister ship of “Moby Wonder” and “Moby Freedom”, but with a different birthplace: the ferry was built in 2005 at the Fincantieri shipyard in Ancona.Moby Aki ferry, IMO 9299393, LivornoTweety, Sylvester, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Taz and Wile E. Coyote are lined up as usual on the sides of the Moby Lines ferries. There is one more sister ship, but in quite different waters: the “MS Superstar” sails the Baltic for the Estonian Tallink.

Search labels: Moby - ferry

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Annunciation

Annunciation bas-relief, Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata, LivornoAfter the thorough cleaning of the facade, an “Annunciation” bas-relief is now visible above the entrance of the Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata in “Via della Madonna”.

See also: United Greeks - Inside United Greeks - Chiesa della Santissima Annunziata

Monday, March 12, 2012

The Flying Booth

Where once stood the informations booth, piazza del Municipio, LivornoThe tourist information booth that once stood in “Piazza del Municipio” has flown away. It was probably tired of watching tourists from the cruise ships taking buses to Florence or, even worse, to Pisa.Parking booth, piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, LivornoBeing not so airworthy, it crash-landed a few blocks away, in “Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia”, where it quickly found a much more fulfilling job as a parking booth.

See also: Piazza del Municipio

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Scali Novi Lena

Scali Novi Lena, LivornoThe recently restored “cantine” under the “Scali Novi Lena”. This street runs on the eastern side of the “Darsena Nuova” (New Harbor), where the ships built at the Orlando Shipyard were once launched. A short canal passing under the swing bridge links this stretch of water with the “Porto Mediceo”. here is, during the rowing season, the finishing line of the Coppa Risi'atori.Old postcard, scali Novi Lena, LivornoIf you look at this old postcard from the early 1900s, the only substantial difference is the building of the Nautical Technical Institute Alfredo Cappellini, now standing just in the middle of the first picture.

See also: Coppa Risi'atori - Swing Bridge - Open Bridge
Search labels: postcard

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Wordplays

Barcollando, Staggering, bar, Livorno“Barcollando” (literally: staggering) is a bar in “Via dell'Ardenza”.Bar-zelletta, literally: Joke, via Maggi, Livorno“Bar-zelletta” (literally: joke) is a bar in “Via Maggi”.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Tricycle Art

Tricycle, via Ricasoli, LivornoA tricycle in “Via Ricasoli”.

A three-wheeled vehicle aptly evokes the fundamental components of Buddhist philosophy. Buddhism itself is often referred to as the “vehicle to enlightenment,” and the tricycle’s three wheels allude to the three treasures: The Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, or the enlightened teacher, the teachings, and the community. The wheels also relate to the turning of the wheel of dharma, or skillfully using the teachings of the Buddha to face the challenges that the circle of life presents.
(About The Tricycle Foundation in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review)

Search labels: bicycle art
External links: Bicycle Art

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Cassata and Cannoli

Cassata siciliana, Sicilian cassata, food fair, LivornoThe sweet side of our latest food fair: a very promising “cassata siciliana”.Sicilian cannoli and candy apples, food fair, LivornoAt the same stand we find candy apples and a variety of Sicilian cannoli.

See also: Food Fair - Salami & Cheese - Sweets - Polenta - Hot Peppers - Drunken Cheese

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

CP 866

Coast Guard patrol boat CP 866, Francesca Neri tug, Porto Mediceo, LivornoSearch and Rescue patrol boat CP 866 speeding back into the “Porto Mediceo” and, in background, the tug “Francesca Neri”.Coast Guard patrol boat CP 866, Porto Mediceo, Livorno
See also: CP 867 - Calm Waters - CP 867 & Nataly - Coast Guard - Piaggio P166

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Drunken Cheese

Formaggio ubriaco, drunken cheese, food fair, Livorno“Formaggio ubriaco” (drunken cheese) is a typical dairy product of the Veneto countryside. Local farmers used to wash their rounds of cheese with pomace, giving to their product a unique flavour.Ricotta salata al pistacchio, salted ricotta cheese with pistachios, food fair, Livorno“Ricotta salata al pistacchio” or salted ricotta cheese with pistachios. These and many other treats for sale at a food fair in “Piazza XX Settembre”.

See also: Food Fair - Salami & Cheese - Sweets - Polenta - Hot Peppers - Cassata and Cannoli

Monday, March 5, 2012

Ponte del Mercato

Ponte del Mercato, Market Bridge, Fosso Reale, LivornoA view of the “Fosso Reale” from the “Scali Saffi” toward “Piazza Cavour”. In the middle of the image the “Ponte del Mercato” (Market Bridge), rebuilt in the 1950s.

L'archivio della scultura” (The archive of sculpture) is a very interesting blog by Cristina Beltrami, a freelance art historian. Today's post is on the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Livorno.

See also: Mercato Centrale - Piazza Cavour - Scali Saffi

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Livorno in the Future

Livorno in avvenire, Livorno in the future, 1906 vintage postcard“Livorno in avvenire” (Livorno in the future) as they imagined it in a 1906 postcard.
(Digitized from the collection of Antonio Cantelli)
See also: Four Moors
Search labels: postcard

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Friday, March 2, 2012

La Rosa

A rose outside a bar, via dell'Ardenza, La Rosa, LivornoA rose outside a bar in “Via dell'Ardenza”. The relatively modern “La Rosa” (The Rose) quartier takes its name from a farm, owned by the heirs of a Francesco La Rosa, which once existed on the road to Montenero, between the outskirts of Livorno and the borough of Ardenza.Apartment buildings in via Macchiavelli, La Rosa, Livorno“La Rosa” means also “the pink one” in Italian and pink is the dominant color of most of the buildings around there. In an extreme flight of imagination the parish church was dedicated to Santa Rosa (Saint Rose).