News, Articles & Editorial

FAI Census Results: Our Dutch-German Church is 9th overall and No. 1 in Tuscany!

Dutch-German Church, Scali Olandesi, Livorno15th February 2013 The long wait is finally over! Yesterday, 14th February, the Fondo Ambiente Italiano (FAI) published the official results of the 2012 "Places I Love" census which took place between May and November last year (see previous article).

Fuel Art Gallery - a new exhibition space for contemporary art

Fuel Art Gallery, Silvia Serenari, Anima Urbis, Iter Perfectionis II: 3 photo-ceramics, representing spiritual energy through the cupola of St Peter's basilicaThe Fuel Art Gallery is a new exhibition space for contemporary art, located in the industrial surroundings of Stagno, just outside Livorno. It is the creation of film director and local cinema manager Serafino Fasulo and art critic Cristina Olivieri. Both from Livorno, Serafino and Cristina have already been working together for several years, ever since Cristina became the curator of a long series of contemporary art exhibitions inside the Kino Dessé cinema managed by Serafino.

I Luoghi di Modigliani - a project to enhance Livorno's artistic heritage, seeking support through Crowd Funding

I Luoghi di Modigliani - a project connecting Paris and Livorno and artist Amedeo ModiglianiI Luoghi di Modigliani: Tra Livorno e Parigi (Modigliani’s places: between Livorno and Paris) is a project conceived by Livornese photographer and videomaker Luca Dal Canto (whose most recent production was the prizewinning short film "Cappotto di Lana") and the Bredenkeik cultural association. It consists of a series of 53 photos taken by Luca of places associated with the life of Livorno-born artist Amedeo Modigliani during the periods of his life that he spent in Livorno and Paris.

INCIPIT VITA NOVA - the Sala degli Archi reopens in the Fortezza Nuova. A sign of things to come?

The 17th-century Fortezza Nuova, Livorno26th April 2013

At 6pm on Saturday 27th April 2013, the Sala degli Archi, one of the rooms inside Livorno's early-17th century Fortezza Nuova, will be reopened following its restoration. The beautiful vaulted space is the perfect setting for events and exhibitions and will in fact begin its new life by hosting a personal exhibition by artist Vittorio Corsini, from Cecina, fittingly entitled INCIPIT VITA NOVA, a quote from Dante meaning "Here begins a new life".

Le Livornine - a collection of artistic postcards by Marc Sardelli

Le Livornine - a collection of artistic postcards by Marc SardelliLe Livornine, a series of art postcards by the well-known Livornese artist Marc Sardelli, NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE!

Fulvio Tasca (owner of the local publishing and printmaking company, Editasca), and Anna Nosiglia (Casa Anna) came up with the idea of promoting both the city of Livorno and one of its most respected artists through a form of communication which has in many ways been superceded by emails and text messages. For many of us, the postcard is an object of nostalgia, just like the images painted and drawn by Sardelli between the late 1950s and the 1980s.

Napoli Milionaria - De Filippo's Opera revived

Eduardo De Filippo, author of Napoli Milionaria17th March 2013

LTL Opera Studio and the Orchestra Della Toscana at Teatro Goldoni

At the end of a week in which the whole city of Livorno had had to cope with no water for four days due to a damaged mains pipe, it seemed kind of appropriate on Friday to be seeing an opera telling the story of the hardships of a family in Naples during World War II.

Premio Combat 2013 - deadline for entries 20th April

Lume di Candela by Alessandro Tognin, Premio Combat Prize 2013This annual art prize, Premio Combat, now into its fourth edition, is open to artists worldwide. It is organized by cultural association and contemporary art gallery, Blob ART, in Livorno.

Revealed! Francis Chantrey's funerary sculpture for Francis Horner's tomb in the Old English Cemetery of Livorno

The Horner medallion revealed to the pressFrancis Horner, MP, and Francis Chantrey, sculptor, both British, and both born in the late 18th century: what could they possibly have in common with the Tuscan port town of Livorno? The connection was revealed this morning during a press conference held in Livorno by the Livorno delle Nazioni cultural association. The conference was called to reveal the identity of the author of a marble relief portrait discovered by the association in the Old English Cemetery which lies in the heart of the Tuscan port city. Although Livorno is the youngest of the region's cities, its protestant burial ground is the oldest of its kind in Italy.

Second-hand is in!

27th November 2011

Zizzi market, Bottini dell'Olio, Venezia district, LivornoFor the past three days the historic Bottini dell'Olio building in the Venezia quarter of Livorno has been a hive of activity, as host to the Amici della Zizzi second-hand market:
Ordinary people selling a vast range of second-hand articles, from clothes and shoes, to books, dvds, toys, Christmas decorations, crafts and even a few works of art.

Strengthening Ties between Livorno and Ings

Bateman Club, Ings, presenting donation to the Livorno delle Nazioni association: from left: Tony Priestley, Vivienne Kay, John Hiley, Sarah Thompson6th September 2012
The Livorno delle Nazioni cultural association receives a donation in Robert Bateman's homeland

In June 2010, Vivienne and Dave Kay, residents of Ings village in Cumbria, England, came to Livorno to visit the grave of 18th-century merchant Robert Bateman in Livorno's Old English Cemetery (click here for previous article). Last week I returned the visit on my way through the English Lake District on a journey from Scotland to London.