Livorno

Origins
The origin of Livorno is dubious, although the place was inhabited since the Neolithic as shown by worked bones, pieces of copper and ceramic found on the Livorno Hills in a cave between Ardenza and Montenero. The construction of the Via Aurelia coincided with the occupation of the region by the Romans, who left traces of their presence in the place names and ruins of towers. The natural cove called Liburna, later transformed in Livorna then in Livorno, is a reference to the type of ship used by Roman Navy. Others ancient toponyms include: Salviano (Salvius), Antignano (Ante ignem) which was the place situated before Ardenza (Ardentia) where were the beacons for the ships directed to Porto Pisano.
The name Livorna is mentioned for the first time in 1017 as a small coastal village, the port and the remains of a Roman tower. In 1077 a tower was built by Matilda of Tuscany. The Republic of Pisa owned Livorno since 1103 and built there a quadrangular Fort called Quadratura dei Pisani (Quartered of the Pisans) at defence of the port. Porto Pisano was destroyed after the crushing defeat of the Pisan fleet in the Battle of Meloria in 1248.[8] Livorno was bought in 1399 by the Visconti of Milan, then was sold to the Republic of Genoa in 1405 and afterwards was bought definitively from Florence on August 28, 1421.[7] Between 1427 and 1429, the census was held. According to the results of the census, there were 118 families in Livorno, which made 423 persons. Monks, Jews, military personnel, and the homeless were not included in the census. In 1551 the population was 1,562 residents, in 1745 it had risen to 32,534 and in 1861 at the unification was 96,471 inhabitants The only remainder of medieval Livorno is a fragment of two towers and a wall, located inside the Fortezza Vecchia.

Medicean period
After the arrival of the Medici, the ruling dynasty of Florence, some modifications were made, in particular, the Fortezza Vecchia was constructed between 1518 and 1534, and the voluntary resettlement of the population to Livorno was stimulated, but Livorno still remained a rather insignificant coastal fortress.

Livorno was designed as an "Ideal town" during the Italian Renaissance, when it was ruled by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany of the House of Medici. The first plan was drawn by the architect Bernardo Buontalenti in 1577, the new fortified town had a pentagon plant, for this reason is called Pentagono del Buontalenti, incorporating the original settlement. The Porto Mediceo was over looked and defended by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre.

In the late 1580s, Ferdinando I of Tuscany declared Livorno a porto franco or free port, which meant that the goods traded here were duty-free within the area of the town's control. To regulate this trade, in 1593 the Duke's administration established the Leggi Livornine. These laws were in force until 1603, until the beginning of the Counter-Reformation. The laws established a well-regulated market, protecting merchant activities from crime and racketeering, and instituted laws regarding international trade.

Additionally, expanding Christian tolerance, the laws offered the right of public freedom of religion and amnesty to people having to gain penance given by clergy in order to conduct civil business. The Grand Duke attracted numerous Turks, Persians, Moors, Greeks, and Armenians, along with Jewish immigrants, beginning in the late sixteenth century from the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, and extended them rights and privileges; they contributed to the mercantile wealth and scholarship in the city.

Livorno became an enlightened European city and one of the most important ports of the entire Mediterranean area. Many European foreigners moved to Livorno. These included Christian Protestant reformers who supported such leaders as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others. French, Dutch, and English arrived, along with Orthodox Greeks. Meanwhile, Jews continued to trade under their previous treaties with the Grand Duke. On 19 March 1606, Ferdinando I de' Medici elevated Livorno to the rank of city; the ceremony was held in the Fortezza Vecchia Chapel of Saint Francis of Assisi.

The Counter-Reformation increased tensions among Christians; dissidents to the Papacy were targeted by various Catholic absolute rulers. Livorno's tolerance fell victim to the Wars of Religion. But, in the preceding period, the merchants of Livorno had developed a series of trading networks with Protestant Europe, and the Dutch, British, and Germans worked to retain these.

From the 17th century until today
At the end of the 17th century, Livorno underwent a period of great town planning and expansion. Near the defensive pile of the Old Fortress, a new fortress was built, together with the town walls and the system of navigable canals through neighborhoods. After the port of Pisa silted up in XIII° century, its distance from the sea was increased and it lost its dominance in trade. Livorno took over as the main port in Tuscany.

The more successful of the European powers re-established trading houses in the region, especially the British with the Levant Company. In turn, the trading networks grew, and with it, Britain's cultural contact with Tuscany. An increasing number of British writers, artists, philosophers, and travelers visited the area and developed the unique historical ties between the two communities. The British referred to the city as Leghorn.

Through the centuries, the city's trade fortunes fell and rose according to the success or failure of the Great Powers. The British and their Protestant allies were important to its trade.

First American-born Saint, Elizabeth Ann Seton converted from Protestantism to Catholicism while visiting Italian friends in Livorno in the early 19th century.

During the Napoleonic Wars of the early nineteenth century, the French prohibited trade with Britain, and the economy of Livorno suffered greatly. The French had taken over Tuscany in 1808, incorporating it into their empire. In 1861, Italy succeeded in its wars of unification, and Livorno and Tuscany became part of the new Kingdom of Italy. Livorno lost its status as a free port and the city's commercial importance declined.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, Livorno had numerous public parks housing important museums as Museo Civico Giovanni Fattori, Museo di storia naturale del Mediterraneo, and cultural institutions as the Biblioteca Labronica F.D. Guerrazzi and other in Neoclassical style as Cisternone, Teatro Goldoni and Liberty style as Palazzo Corallo, Mercato delle Vettovaglie, Stabilimento termale Acque della Salute, the Scuole elementari Benci all the last on project by Angiolo Badaloni. In the 1930s were built numerous villas on the avenue along the sea in Liberty style on design by Cioni.

Livorno suffered extensive damage during the Second World War. Many historic sites and buildings were destroyed by bombs of the Allies preceding their invasion, including the cathedral and the synagogue. Livorno's citizens in recent decades has become well known for their left-wing politics. The Italian communist party was founded in Livorno in 1921.