Piccola Venezia is a tangle of small canals built during the 17th century, using Venetian methods of reclaiming land from the sea. At its heart sits the remains of the Medici-era Fortezza Nuova. Canals link this with the slightly older, waterfront Fortezza Vecchia. The waterways can be explored by canalside footpaths but a boat tour is the best way to see its shabby-chic panoramas of faded, peeling apartments draped with brightly coloured washing, interspersed with waterside cafes and bars.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
12.47 MILES
One of Italy's signature sights, the Torre Pendente truly lives up to its name, leaning a startling 3.9 degrees off the vertical. The 58m-high tower,…
12.48 MILES
Pisa's magnificent duomo was begun in 1064 and consecrated in 1118. Its striking tiered exterior, with green-and-cream marble cladding, gives onto a…
22.12 MILES
Lucca's predominantly Romanesque cathedral dates from the 11th century. Its stunning facade was constructed in the prevailing Lucca-Pisan style and…
12.45 MILES
Pisa's unusual round baptistry has one dome piled on top of another, each roofed half in lead, half in tiles, and topped by a gilt bronze John the Baptist…
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22.42 MILES
Lucca’s monumental mura (wall) was built around the old city in the 16th and 17th centuries and remains in almost perfect condition. It superseded two…
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22.36 MILES
Fire the romantic in you with a stroll around this beautiful 17th-century palace where parts of Portrait of a Lady (1996), starring Nicole Kidman and John…
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Santuario della Madonna di Montenero
5.14 MILES
The story goes like this: in 1345, the Virgin Mary appeared to a shepherd, who led her to monte nero (black mountain), a haven of brigands. Needless to…
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29.89 MILES
The vast collection of artefacts exhibited here makes this one of Italy's most impressive Etruscan collections. Found locally, they include some 600…
Nearby Livorno attractions
0.05 MILES
This early-18th-century Domenican church with its thick stone walls and prominent dome stands sentry on the western side of Piazza dei Domenicani as it…
0.14 MILES
Built for the Medicis between 1590 and 1604, this hulk of a red-brick fort in Piccola Venezia is a pale shade of its 17th-century magnificent self…
3. Chiesa di San Gregorio degli Armeni
0.14 MILES
All but destroyed in a WWII bombing, the once-graceful baroque-style facade – gated and chained today – is all that remains of the early 18th-century…
4. Chiesa di San Ferdinando Re
0.16 MILES
Constructed between 1704 and 1714 but extensively damaged during WWII and subsequently rebuilt, this church was named after the King of Castile. Its…
0.17 MILES
This Franciscan church, with notably plain and stark facade, was built in the 17th century by foreign communities of the Catholic faith living in Livorno…
0.19 MILES
This Greek Orthodox church was built in 1607, acquired its magnificent baroque facade in the 18th century and became a Catholic church after WWII. The…
0.37 MILES
Livorno's huge concrete synagogue, built between 1958 and 1962, occupies the site of a 17th-century predecessor that was badly damaged by Allied bombs in…
0.37 MILES
Pietro Tacca's 1626 statue of Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany and four chained African slaves was commissioned to commemorate Ferdinand's victories over…