Music Fans! We Want your Answer!
Seen a great Canadian Film Lately?
| LIVORNO & FIUMICINO: More than just transit stops |
 |
 |
| Tuesday, 11 October 2011 19:28 | |||
|
By Peggy Karas
Livorno is a large port city, which was once a “free port” and the old Porto Mediceo was designed by the architect Bernardo Buonatlenti along the lines of Venice with fortifications, canals and towers overlooking them all. Remnants of these fortifications remain as do the canals and bridges over them along with several piazzas. The main shopping district has modern stores which have covered walkways that provide protection from the sun and rain. For my husband and I the best part of Livorno was the large promenade along the seashore. Beginning with the pleasant Piazza Mazzini and following along the palm tree lined Via Italia the Terrazza Mascagni begins at the Orlando shipyards and goes to the Naval Academy. It is both a bicycle and walking path with wonderful views (especially at sunset) over the sea. On a clear day it is possible to see the Island of Elba where Napoleon was exiled for 300 days from 1814 to 1815 when he fled the island and was finally defeated at the Battle of Waterloo. The Terrazza comes alive after dark with strolling pedestrians, street vendors, and entertainers. Livorno is known for its excellent seafood and the restaurants on the Terrazza (overlooking the sea) did not disappoint. There were also several night clubs which were crowded with revellers. Fiumicino (the site of Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci Airport) is also often seen as just a way station on your journey to and from the airport, but it too has elements which make it worth a visit on its own merits. It is a working fishing village, so the harbour itself is not all pretty and full of touristy shops. There are working fishing boats, with their nets tied up along the dock and the evening we were there, there were dozens of fishermen with their fishing poles trying their luck up and down the dock area. However there was also a pleasant walkway along the dock and the jetty at the end of the harbour has magnificent views of the sunset over the sea.  The eateries along the dock range from bars and pizza joints to elegant fish restaurants. The fish restaurants advertise that the fish they serve is fresh, not frozen, and locally caught. We stopped for lunch at the elegant Zi Pina Ristorante where we enjoyed a delicious salad and pasta with fresh fruit for dessert. The air conditioning and the pleasant and helpful wait staff who spoke English made for a lovely light lunch. We did not try the fresh fish but it looked excellent and certainly the Italian business men who were near us seemed to be enjoying it immensely. In the evening we decided to try the more down scale, but popular Pizza Rustica. It was very busy with locals occupying almost all of the tables, but the opportunity to sit outside and try whatever it was that the locals were enjoying in paper cones with plastic stick forks could not be resisted. It turned out that it was deep fried squid in the cones and my husband enjoyed them immensely. I opted for some of the several varieties of pizza on offer. I chose the traditional cheese & tomato with a seafood topping and for an unusual choice tried the potato topped pizza. These were all served in slices which were cut to the size you chose and then weighed to determine the price. With two large bottles of beer to wash it all down the total for everything came to less the 25 euros—a delicious bargain! So on your next trip to Italy, don’t just assume that your point of entry is merely a stopover on your journey to the wonderful art and architecture that Italy has to offer. Take some time to enjoy these coastal cities, their beautiful sunsets, and wonderful fish restaurants. If you go: Zi Pina Ristorante, 180 Torre Clementine, 00054 Fiumicino, Tel: 06 650 5080, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Pizza Rustica, 170 Torre Clementien, 00054 Fiumicino.
|
Search what you are looking for
Liked a review?
