Columbus Cruise Review - Livorno (Leghorn)

Home > Cruise Destination Guide > Livorno (Leghorn)

Time Zone: Livorno (Leghorn)

Currency: Euro (€) = 100 cents or L1936.

Language: Italian.

Sightseeing: The port of Livorno is the gateway to Tuscany and the cities of Florence and Pisa. A visit to Florence (Firenze) is a must for any art lover. Cradle of the Renaissance and home of the Medici family – Italy’s most progressive art patrons – Florence houses some of the world’s greatest treasures. Important sites include: the Duomo di Santa Maria del Fiore (cathedral); the Galleria degli Uffizi (Uffizi Gallery), the most important art collection in Italy and one of the richest in the world, featuring hundreds of masterpieces by Renaissance artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Botticelli; the Galleria dell’Accademia (Accademia Gallery), which houses Michaelangelo’s ‘David’; the Ponte Vecchio, home to Florence’s gold and silversmiths; the Museo Nazionale del Bargello (Bargello National Museum), which contains Tuscany’s most impressive collection of sculpture; and the elegant Franciscan church of Santa Croce. Pisa is famous for its Torre Pendente (Leaning Tower) and the 11th-century Gothic Duomo (Cathedral) nearby; the tower was deemed unsafe and ready to collapse for many years but has recently been successfully stabilised and visitors who have reserved tickets in advance may now enter.

Shopping: High-quality leather produce, gold and silverware and marbled paper. Artisans can still be seen plying their trade in workshops all over Florence. The area around Santa Croce is home to the city’s leather-makers, while the Oltrarno is cluttered with the workshops of local gold and silversmiths – although the Ponte Vecchio is home to the glitzier shops. Similar items can be found in Pisa, as well as numerous souvenirs of the Leaning Tower.

Eating Out: Bistecca alla fiorentina (thick T-bone steak grilled over charcoal, sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper and olive oil), minestrone alla fiorentina (tasty vegetable soup with slices of country bread), pappardelle alla lepre (pasta with hare sauce), tortina di carciofi (baked artichoke pie) with dishes of ham, sausages and steaks. Sweets include panforte di Siena (confection of honey, candied fruits, almonds and cloves), castagnaccio (chestnut cake with nuts and sultanas) and ricciarelli (delicate biscuit of honey and almonds from Siena). Tuscan wines include Chianti, Vernaccia, Aleatico and Brunello di Montalcino.