People

Choirmaster with a Spring in his Step

Cristiano Grasso Cristiano Grasso was born in 1973 in Cecina, a small town by the sea in the province of Livorno, although he now lives in Livorno. Cristiano’s passion is for music, as shown by his very busy schedule as school teacher, piano teacher and choirmaster of three different choirs here in Livorno.

Percussionist and Composer, mad about Jazz

Giacomo Riggi on drums Giacomo Riggi Mazzone was born into a family where music was already a dominant feature (his grandfather Tony Mazzone owns the well-known music shop in Livorno), so perhaps inevitably he grew up to study percussion instruments at the Istituto Mascagni in Livorno, under the guidance of Jonata Faralli.

 An Anglo-Livornese Collaboration

Giles Foster 13 June 2008 Giles Foster has lived and worked in Livorno for longer than he probably cares to remember, but he is originally from Salisbury in England and comes from a family of musicians. He had his first experience of Rock music at the age of 8, when his father first brought a TV home. Ever since then he has been passionate about music, singing and playing the acoustic guitar in his own band, and writing his own songs which communicate his great love of life.

Giorgio Chiellini Livornese footballer Giorgio Chiellini, currently on the Italian squad at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, started his football career with his home team

Making her Way to a Career in Music 

Greta Merli, guitarist and vocalist Greta was born in Livorno in 1983 and lives here in Livorno with her mum.  She first became involved in music at the age of 10 when she started piano lessons, following in the footsteps of her older brother who works as a professional pianist in Mantova.

Daniele Caluri Daniele Caluri is a well-known cartoonist from Livorno. His successful career began at Il Vernacoliere, the city's satirical magazine which is read all over Italy.

How was it that you started working with Il Vernacoliere at the age of 14?

In a very ordinary way: at school, a friend and I used to draw humorous cartoons during lessons we weren’t interested in. We would pass them back and forth under the desk to make each other laugh (and to get each other sent out of the classroom). Once I managed to get my friend thrown out of class because he was in such fits of laughter, and afterwards I decided to post the cartoon that had made him laugh so much in the letter box of the Il Vernacoliere magazine, close to my school. A month later it was published and I’ve been collaborating with the magazine ever since, for the past 26 years.

Peter Moore (left) and Claudio Monteleone, at Livorno's Mercato Centrale 7th December 2015

Talking to Peter Moore about travel, motorbikes and music, and why, after all his globetrotting, he loves Livorno so much!

Peter Moore, the well-known travel writer from Sydney, Australia, lives in London and regularly journeys to fascinating places around the globe to feed his passion for other cultures and to provide material for his entertaining books. He has published several titles based on his worldwide travel adventures, and currently also writes for the British travel magazine Wanderlust, and newpapers like The Guardian.

I first discovered Peter several years ago when searching online for instructions about how to make Livorno's celebrated Ponce, and stumbling across his article in the Sunday Times about Bar Civili, the historic Ponce bar!

Lindsay Kemp at his home in Livorno Although dancer, choreographer and costume and set designer Lindsay Kemp returned to the spotligh

24-2-2014 Stockholm meets Livorno

Dedicated to Livorno's Primary School Children since 1972

Maria Grazia Bertini, primary school teacher Maria Grazia was born in Livorno in 1952. She is married to Renzo, and has two sons. Having had a ‘bad teacher’ at primary school herself, she decided at an early age that she wanted to dedicate her working life to teaching children.  She started her teaching career in 1972 and has worked in many of Livorno’s primary schools. She has worked at the Natali school since 1997.

Maria Grazia is one of those teachers dedicated 100% to her job and to the children she teaches. She believes wholeheartedly in school as an institution and in the importance of her job.

When she has some time to herself Maria Grazia loves reading, watching films, and travelling. She also loves music, especially Mozart.