Thursday, December 31, 2015

Via Calzabigi 66

Via Calzabigi 66, Livorno
We saw this building in Via Calzabigi in a post of six years ago, but this time I was able to take a picture without cars parked in front of it.

See also: Via Calzabigi

Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Santa's Family

Santa family, display window in Corso Mazzini, Livorno
A strange nativity scene with Santa and his family. Somebody, somewhere, has mixed two different stories?

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Monday, December 28, 2015

Covered with Guano

The new part of the Elba pier has been ready for months, but it is still closed to humans.
Dozens of gulls take advantage of this and have literally covered its farthest part with guano.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

What a Shame...

Bike sharing, Piazza Cavour, Livorno
The ultimate example of bicycle art, without bicycles. The easily foreseeable disaster of our bike sharing program has left a few abandoned stations and a hole of 130,000 Euro in our city's balance sheet.

Five-Thousand-Euro Bicycles - Waste of Money - Bike Sharing - A Diabolical Endeavour

External links: Poche, rotte e sconnesse: il “bike sharing” รจ a terra (Il Tirreno, in Italian)
See also: Bicycle Art
Search labels: bicycle art

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Friday, December 25, 2015

Happy Christmas!

Christmas tree at the office, Livorno
One of the three Christmas trees that decorate my office... Happy Christmas to everybody!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Danger Sign

Keith Haring inspired mural, Istituto Colombo, Via San Gaetano, Livorno
A well placed danger sign near a figure in a Keith Haring-inspired mural at the Painted School.

See also: The Painted School - Photos of the Painted School
External links: Keith Haring (Wikipedia)

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

Petunias

Petunias, Via Caduti del Lavoro, Livorno
Petunias on a balcony in Via Caduti del Lavoro. (Photo taken last August)

External links: Petunia (Wikipedia)
Search labels: flower

Monday, December 21, 2015

Seven Years

High rise, Piazza 
Matteotti, Livorno
After 2558 posts and thousands of photos, our seventh anniversary finds us quite tired. We have been toying for a while with the idea of completely shutting down the blog, but we will probably settle soon for a less interactive approach, which sadly means less visits and comments to other blogs. Also “A Bunch of Benches” will end quite soon. We are absolutely not happy with this choice, but keeping four blogs for years is a time-consuming endeavor and this is the only option to keep at least Livorno Daily Photo still going.

Anniversary Walk - Two Years - Three Years of PowerShots - Four Years - Five Years - Six Years

See also: Top Ranking Blog - Half a Million - 2000! - 500,000
External links: City Daily Photo (Portal) - Classifica blog provincia di Livorno (BlogItalia, in Italian)

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Sant'Agostino

Church of Sant'Agostino, Piazza Aldo Moro, Livorno
The church of Sant'Agostino (Saint Augustine) in piazza Aldo Moro.

See also: God Loves You

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Second Choice

Shop window, Corso Mazzini, Livorno
This shop window in Corso Mazzini was our second choice for this month's theme day.
(Photo taken last July)

Search labels: bicycle art
External links: Bicycle Art (Inspiration Green)
See also: Theme Day: Shop Window

Friday, December 18, 2015

Tensile Structure

Terminal Crociere, Cruise Terminal, Livorno
Not far from the curious building with round windows, we have a tensile structure which offers some shade near the “Terminal Crociere” (Cruise Terminal).

See also: Cruise Terminal - Round Windows

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Scali del Teatro

Corner building between Via del Casino and Scali del Teatro, Livorno
A corner building between Via del Casino and Scali del Teatro.

Search labels: corner

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

The Hanging Tugboat

Rimorchiatore Tito Neri, IMO 9319167, porto di Livorno
During our cruise around the cargo port with Maurizio, we saw the 300-ton “Tito Neri” fixed like this.
(Photo taken last March)

See also: Walk... on Water - Maurizio - Cargo Port - Tito Neri
Search labels: tug

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

December Cat

Cat, Via del Fagiano, Livorno
There are so many cats in Via del Fagiano...

Search labels: cat

Monday, December 14, 2015

Christmas Decorations

Garbage piling up outside the dumpsters, Viale degli Avvalorati, Livorno
These are the results of a two-day strike of our garbage collectors, just before the weekend.
Garbage piling up outside the dumpsters, Piazza dei Mille, Livorno
Garbage piling up outside the dumpsters, Via Giusti, Livorno
Sadly, even in these circumstances, the civic sense of most of the Livornesi is not very good.

See also: Garbage Trucks - Dumpsters - Garbage - Garbage through the Hoop

Sunday, December 13, 2015

The Emperor's New Railing

Monument to Leopold II by Andrea Pelliccia, San Jacopo, Livorno
Pietro Leopoldo was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790 and then Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792. His monument, on the left of the church of San Jacopo in Acquaviva, is a work of the sculptor Andrea Pelliccia. It has now a new nice railing, decorated with a scooter.

See also: Caged Emperor - San Jacopo in Acquaviva - The Missing Bell Tower - San Jacopo
External links: Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (Wikipedia)

Friday, December 11, 2015

Round Windows

Maritime Terminal, port of Livorno
I am not sure about the nature of this building, which lies inside the cargo port, not far from the Stazione Marittima (Maritime Terminal).

See also: Cruise Terminal

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Murena (A5305)

Murena A5305, port of Livorno
The “Murena” (literally: moray eel) was launched in 1957 as a non-magnetic in-shore minesweeper, which means that her hull is mostly made of wood. She is part of a series of vessels called classe Aragosta (Lobster class).
Murena A5305, port of Livorno
Her original name was “Scampo” (Norway lobster), but in the early 2000's she became “Murena” after undergoing a thorough modernization. Now she is used as a training vessel for the cadets of the Naval Academy.

External links: Murena (Italian Navy)
See also: Astice (A5379)

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

A Magpie

The magpie, Via Montebello, Livorno
I caught this magpie in Via Montebello last Sunday.

Search labels: bird

Monday, December 7, 2015

Mazzini and a Beer

Bust of Giuseppe Mazzini, Piazza Mazzini, Livorno
On Sunday morning it is easy to find empty bottles all around town. Even Giuseppe Mazzini got his own beer, and it is still half full. If you are curious about the missing C, please read C Eaters.

Link esterni: Giuseppe Mazzini (Wikipedia)
See also: C Eaters

Sunday, December 6, 2015

Two Iron Flowers

Iron flowers, former Grand Hotel Corallo, Piazza Dante, Livorno
Two iron flowers, from the railings around the former Grand Hotel Corallo, in Piazza Dante.

See also: Iron Flowers

Saturday, December 5, 2015

Port without Ships

Empty Porto Mediceo on Ferragosto, port of Livorno
Sadness is... a port without ships. (Photo taken last August 15th)

External links: Ferragosto (Wikipedia)

Friday, December 4, 2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

Garbage through the Hoop

Garbage through the Hoop, Piazza Cavour, Livorno
Our city-owned garbage collection company is nearly bankrupt, but still managed to spend some money for these silly trash bins: “rifiuti a canestro” means “garbage through the hoop”.

See also: Garbage Trucks - Garbage

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Emerald Princess

Cruise ship Emerald Princess, IMO 9333151, port of Livorno
The 290-meter “Emerald Princess” was built in 2006 by Fincantieri at the Monfalcone shipyard.
Cruise ship Emerald Princess, IMO 9333151, port of Livorno
Cruise ship Emerald Princess, IMO 9333151, port of Livorno
As many ship of her kind, the “Emerald Princess” offers Mediterranean and Greek Isles cruises in spring and summer, and Caribbean cruises in autumn and winter.
(Photos taken last September)
External links: Emerald Princess - Fincantieri - Princess Cruises (Wikipedia)
Search labels: cruise ship

Monday, November 30, 2015

Garbage

Garbage piling up outside the dumpsters, Via Ernesto Rossi, Livorno
Sunday morning: our troubles with garbage collection are worsening...

See also: Garbage Trucks - Dumpsters

Sunday, November 29, 2015

Two Ports

Avvisatore Marittimo, Maritime Warnings service, Livorno
Our view from the Mastio is moving again toward the sea with the blue tower of the Avvisatore Marittimo (Maritime Warnings service) at the entrance of the Porto Mediceo. At the horizon we can see the island of Gorgona, 37 Km off the coast, still part of the Municipality of Livorno.
On the left a view of the the Porto Mediceo, which was the first real port and it is now mostly used as a marina or by ferries and smaller cruise ships. On the right a view of the far larger cargo port.

View from the Mastio - The Three Bastions - View on the Old Harbor

See also: Island Prison - Gorgona - Easter Eve - The Looming Tower - Over the Porto Mediceo - Cargo Port - Fortezza Vecchia - Mastio di Matilde
Search labels: Fortezza Vecchia

Saturday, November 28, 2015

Friday, November 27, 2015

Tiki

Some posts simply get lost, but I would like to salvage this one, even if it is out of season by now.
Tiki statues, Surfer Joe Diner, Terrazza Mascagni, Livorno
Last July I went to the Terrazza Mascagni and I saw several Tiki statues around the Surfer Joe Diner.
Tiki statues, Surfer Joe Diner, Terrazza Mascagni, Livorno
Tiki statues, Surfer Joe Diner, Terrazza Mascagni, Livorno
It seems that they were props to advertise their new Tiki Room. (Photos taken last July)

External links: Tiki - Tiki bar (Wikipedia) - Surfer Joe Diner (Official website)
See also: Terrazza Mascagni
Search labels: Terrazza Mascagni

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Karianna

Motor Yacht Karianna, MMSI 378111536, port of Livorno
The 40-meter “Karianna” was built in 2008 by Horizon Yacht in Taiwan.

External links: Horizon Yacht (Official website)
Search labels: yacht

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Lantana camara

Lantana camara, Parterre, Livorno
It seems that this beautiful plant, which I saw at the Parterre, has several downsides: it is considered an invasive species, it could be toxic to animals, but it is really loved by bees and birds.

External links: Lantana camara - Invasive species (Wikipedia)
See also: Parterre

Monday, November 23, 2015

View on the Old Harbor

Old harbor, Pamiglione, Livorno
Another view from the Mastio (Keep) of the Fortezza Vecchia, this time toward south. This is the original harbor of Livorno, called Darsena Vecchia (Old Harbor) or Pamiglione.
Livorno
Livorno
On the left you can see the fishing boats, on the right the boats of Coast Guard, firefighters and Guardia di Finanza.

View from the Mastio - The Three Bastions

See also: Pamiglione - Old Harbor - Fortezza Vecchia - Mastio di Matilde
Search labels: Fortezza Vecchia