Livorno is a city on the coast of Tuscany with a large and impressive checkered seaside promenade. As luring as that may sound, Livorno is at the bottom of my list of favorite places I’ve visited. Now, it’s still Italy and charming, but in a country full of world class beauty and charm, this is one place I won’t be urging you to visit.

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Livorno in a nutshell

Location: Tuscany, Italy

Best known for: Its harbor, seafood, and seaside checkerboard-pattern promenade

Days needed to explore: 1+ - Livorno is small enough that a day trip is ample to explore this city.

What to see and do:

Terrazza Mascagni - the checkerboard promenade by the sea
Fortezza Vecchia - the old fortress standing at the edge of the Medici Port
Fortezza Nuova - the newer red brick fortress built during the Medici period to defend against pirate attacks
Quartiere Venezia - an area in the middle of the city made in the style of Venice, with canals, bridges, and such.
Il Mercato delle Vettovaglie - a large covered market with more than 200 booths of fish, fruit, vegetables and more to browse

Established: “Livorna” is first mentioned in 1071, and was inhabited by Etruscans, ruled by the Romans and Medici, and is now the capital city of the Province of Livorno.

Places to eat:

Da Gagarin di Chiappo Giuliano - for a typical Livornese snack, try the 5e5 “torta di ceci” or sandwich made with chickpeas
Il Frataio 1920 Antica Friggitoria - head to the friggitoria off of Piazza Cavalotti and follow your nose from there to get some fresh fried donuts

Typical foods to try:

Il Cacciucco - a very typical fish stew featuring inexpensive local fish varieties, cuttlefish, and octopus, to use up the “un-sellables” from the market.
Nettare di Capraia - a local amber colored honey
Torta di Ceci - the flat, savory chickpea cake typical to the region. Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, it’s surprisingly satisfying!

Why I like Livorno

I like Livorno mostly because I don’t love Livorno. I know that makes no sense. Of all the places I’ve been to in Italy, I think Livorno would come the least recommended. And yet, I had such a good time here, and only good memories.

I originally wanted to see Livorno because I thought I had read another expat (Girl in Florence) writing about how well she liked Livorno, a good alternative to the ever busy Cinque Terre. I’m not sure if I mixed Livorno up with another town or I just completely missed her drift, but I found the two with very little in common aside from both being in Italy and both being on the coast.

Let me start by saying that I went on a day trip here. During the off season. On a Sunday. When it was rainy. If you could combine all of the elements to make an Italian city seem closed, those would be it. Tada, I managed to experience Livorno in as close to a closed, vacated, uninhabited state as possible, pre-Covid. So really, if you have been or decide to visit Livorno, it’s almost certain you will at least have a somewhat better impression than I do. You see, off season is nice, but in smaller towns it doesn’t always feel as full or fun. On Sunday, most businesses are closed. Then you add rain on top of that and ciao, nobody’s out and about.

We had a great time walking around, circling and circling trying to find somewhere, anywhere to eat. Laughing because nowhere was open. Trying to find a grocery or small store, anything, open. Laughing because of course they’re all closed on Sunday. Walking around to see what shops might be open. None, because it’s Sunday and it’s raining. Laughing some more. And of course, being Italy, when small shops are closed they often have those metal garage doors they pull down so you can’t even see what’s there normally, just a street of locked metal pull-down doors. Giggling some more at the wet, abandoned streets. Seeing some big building, probably important. Closed, and what a lovely fence around it. Not. Laughing some more. My biggest regret was not being able to visit the Mercato delle Vettovaglie. I had heard it was a great market, not so dissimilar from the Mercato Centrale in Florence that I love so well.

Now, the promenade is truly lovely, but I was also struck by how random it feels. The aquarium is just off to one side, with a gravel area around it, and the promenade just kinda starts. It goes on in all its elegance, then ends. There doesn’t seem to be any rhyme to it. It feels like it deserves some beautiful gardens or walkways that lead up to it, not gravel and randomness. Perhaps in the summer when it’s not raining they have events or gatherings there.