Giovanni Fattori, "Signora Martelli a Castiglioncello", Museo Fattori
Famous Livorno people
Giovanni Fattori was born in Livorno in 1825. He attended Giuseppe Bezzuoli’s private school and the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he made the acquaintance of numerous artists and came into contact with local Risorgimento circles, who were inspired by the political thought of the Livorno writer Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi. He was among the artist-patriots who habitually frequented Caffè Michelangelo, where in the late 1850s the Macchiaioli [from macchia: spot or blotch] “revolution” was conceived and developed (the idea being to get out of the ateliers and paint en plein air, to depict “the real and the natural”, sketching with a quick, immediate technique, using juxtaposed and contrasted brushstrokes, aiming to capture the fleeting quality of light). Thus the vibrant colours and realistic shading of the School of Castiglioncello were to be born, when the Macchiaioli painters, guests of Diego Martelli, produced their landscapes of the Livorno area.
Fattori was a major figure in Italian nineteenth-century painting: he was great portraitist, the finest engraver of his time and an outstanding painter of landscapes and seascapes. He was also renowned for his impressive scenes of Risorgimento battles, which are held in the “Giovanni Fattori” Civic Museum of Villa Mimbelli.
This kind of Naturalist painting evolved further in Livorno and in the wake of the School of Fattori, which had many followers, the lively Post-Macchiaioli group flourished and, with an appropriate updating from the latest French artistic movements, paved the way for twentieth-century art. There is a long list of artists born in Livorno in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, all leading figures in the Tuscan painting scene: from Eugenio Cecconi, painter of hunting scenes, to Oscar Ghiglia; from the purists Enrico Pollastrini and Cesare Bartolena to Mario Puccini; from the three Tommasi, Adolfo, Angelo and Ludovico, to the Divisionist Benvenuto Benvenuti. Livorno was the birthplace of the famous portraitist Vittorio Matteo Corcos and of the celebrated poster art designer Leonetto Cappiello, both of whom relocated to Paris, where they were crowned with international success. Ulvi Liegi, Plinio Nomellini and numerous other painters are worth mentioning (the Macchiaioli artist Serafino De Tivoli, Ugo Manaresi, Giovanni Bartolena, Silvio Bicchi, Alfredo Müller, Francesco Fanelli, Ferruccio Pagni, Raffaello Gambogi, Adriano Baracchini Caputi, Renato Natali, Giovanni Lomi, Cafiero Filippelli, Giovanni March, Antonio De Witt etc.). Their works can be seen in the “Giovanni Fattori” Civic Museum of Villa Mimbelli, but there are also some on display in various art galleries in the town. We might also mention the sculptress Laura Franco Bedarida. Even before the nineteenth century, Livorno had some fine artists: Pietro Ciafferi AKA “Lo Smargiasso” [the Blusterer], painter of beautiful landscapes in the seventeenth century, Tommaso Gazzarrini and Giuseppe Maria Terreni, the two painter and engravers, the brothers Antonio and Jacopo Terreni, in the eighteenth century. The twentieth century also continued to produce important artists (the architect and set designer Virgilio Marchi, the Futurist Osvaldo Peruzzi, Mario Nigro, Gianfranco Ferroni, Gianfranco Baruchello etc.).
Fattori was a major figure in Italian nineteenth-century painting: he was great portraitist, the finest engraver of his time and an outstanding painter of landscapes and seascapes. He was also renowned for his impressive scenes of Risorgimento battles, which are held in the “Giovanni Fattori” Civic Museum of Villa Mimbelli.
This kind of Naturalist painting evolved further in Livorno and in the wake of the School of Fattori, which had many followers, the lively Post-Macchiaioli group flourished and, with an appropriate updating from the latest French artistic movements, paved the way for twentieth-century art. There is a long list of artists born in Livorno in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, all leading figures in the Tuscan painting scene: from Eugenio Cecconi, painter of hunting scenes, to Oscar Ghiglia; from the purists Enrico Pollastrini and Cesare Bartolena to Mario Puccini; from the three Tommasi, Adolfo, Angelo and Ludovico, to the Divisionist Benvenuto Benvenuti. Livorno was the birthplace of the famous portraitist Vittorio Matteo Corcos and of the celebrated poster art designer Leonetto Cappiello, both of whom relocated to Paris, where they were crowned with international success. Ulvi Liegi, Plinio Nomellini and numerous other painters are worth mentioning (the Macchiaioli artist Serafino De Tivoli, Ugo Manaresi, Giovanni Bartolena, Silvio Bicchi, Alfredo Müller, Francesco Fanelli, Ferruccio Pagni, Raffaello Gambogi, Adriano Baracchini Caputi, Renato Natali, Giovanni Lomi, Cafiero Filippelli, Giovanni March, Antonio De Witt etc.). Their works can be seen in the “Giovanni Fattori” Civic Museum of Villa Mimbelli, but there are also some on display in various art galleries in the town. We might also mention the sculptress Laura Franco Bedarida. Even before the nineteenth century, Livorno had some fine artists: Pietro Ciafferi AKA “Lo Smargiasso” [the Blusterer], painter of beautiful landscapes in the seventeenth century, Tommaso Gazzarrini and Giuseppe Maria Terreni, the two painter and engravers, the brothers Antonio and Jacopo Terreni, in the eighteenth century. The twentieth century also continued to produce important artists (the architect and set designer Virgilio Marchi, the Futurist Osvaldo Peruzzi, Mario Nigro, Gianfranco Ferroni, Gianfranco Baruchello etc.).
Art has always exercised a particular fascination on the people of Livorno. The amateur artist arms himself with an easel and paintbrush and enthusiastically sets off to paint en plein air, lapping up the sun and the light that bathe the city. Along the seafront, we can still come across the odd artist, nostalgic for the figurative style of the Macchiaioli , intent on reproducing on canvas, often skilfully, some splendid view.
The Livorno composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) is renowned and appreciated throughout the world. In 1890, at the age of only 27, he composed his most famous opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, which is still one of the most performed in the world. From that moment, his career was crowned by a series of triumphs, as both composer and orchestra director, especially abroad. Apart from his Cavalleria, we might also recall the refined Iris, L’Amico Fritz, Le Maschere as well as many others.
Livorno made a great contribution to the Italian Risorgimento, thanks to the efforts of the writer, politician and intellectual Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, the heroic Enrico Bartelloni, the brothers Andrea and Jacopo Sgarallino, the journalists Pietro Coccoluto Ferrigni, better known by the pseudonym of Yorick, and Giuseppe Bandi, from Gavorrano (Grosseto), founder of the daily newspaper “Il Tirreno”. Livorno volunteers who fought so magnanimously for the wars for independence and for the unification of Italy are countless.
The Livorno composer Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) is renowned and appreciated throughout the world. In 1890, at the age of only 27, he composed his most famous opera, Cavalleria Rusticana, which is still one of the most performed in the world. From that moment, his career was crowned by a series of triumphs, as both composer and orchestra director, especially abroad. Apart from his Cavalleria, we might also recall the refined Iris, L’Amico Fritz, Le Maschere as well as many others.
Livorno made a great contribution to the Italian Risorgimento, thanks to the efforts of the writer, politician and intellectual Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, the heroic Enrico Bartelloni, the brothers Andrea and Jacopo Sgarallino, the journalists Pietro Coccoluto Ferrigni, better known by the pseudonym of Yorick, and Giuseppe Bandi, from Gavorrano (Grosseto), founder of the daily newspaper “Il Tirreno”. Livorno volunteers who fought so magnanimously for the wars for independence and for the unification of Italy are countless.
Livorno is not short of scientists either: the naturalist Diacinto Cestoni and the mathematician Federigo Enriques; or distinguished literati, such as Ranieri de’ Calzabigi, eighteenth-century poet and librettist, the poetess and writer Angelica Palli, with her literary salon, the poet Giovanni Marradi, playwrights Dario Niccodemi and Sabatino Lopez, the writer Giosuè Borsi and the writer and patriot Carlo Bini. Then we have the two brothers Giovanni and Dino Targioni Tozzetti, the former a librettist for Mascagni and the latter a poet, known as Cangillo when he wrote his sonnets in the vernacular, the writer and journalist Anna Franchi, Carlo Coccioli, whose books have also been published abroad. One of the greatest twentieth-century Italian poets, Giorgio Caproni, wrote passionate verses eulogising his city of birth.
Traditional dramas in the local vernacular were masterfully performed by the writer-actors Beppe Orlandi and Gino Lena, and much praised by the writer and poet Giorgio Fontanelli.
Livorno people are frank and sincere, naturally ironic and irreverent. It’s fun to stop in the streets of the market and listen to the local patter, the colourful and mostly shouted conversations. If your Italian is up to it, try (or read with a Livorno friend) the magazine “Il Vernacoliere”, which is popular not just in Livorno. We hope you’re not easily shockable, as the language and jokes are, not to put too fine a point on it, rather vulgar and uncouth! There are also the spirited, humorous dictionaries of Livornese dialect by Ettore Borzacchini (alias Giorgio Marchetti), with his in-depth knowledge of the local lingo. Every September in Livorno, the “Sense of Ridiculousness” is held: three days of humour, satire and comedy.
Livorno boasts numerous sports champions, in various disciplines: swimming, sailing, basketball, rugby, boxing, cycling and underwater fishing – we don’t have room to mention them all here.
Livorno was the birthplace of Federico Caprilli (1868-1907), deviser of the current system of natural horsemanship, and champion in numerous races. Nedo Nadi (1894-1940) was also born in Livorno; he was the greatest Italian fencer, and winner of an incredible number of gold medals. Various generations of athletes (not just the famous Montano clan) succeeded him, making Livorno fencing world-famous, as confirmed by the countless gold medals won at international and Olympic level. The mythical Livorno rowing crew, called the “Scarronzoni”, was awarded several Olympic medals and won many Italian and European titles between 1928 and 1940. A fair number of footballers have also hailed from Livorno, from Armando Picchi to the more recent Cristiano Lucarelli, Igor Protti and Giorgio Chiellini, as well as the well-known football manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Livorno was the birthplace of Federico Caprilli (1868-1907), deviser of the current system of natural horsemanship, and champion in numerous races. Nedo Nadi (1894-1940) was also born in Livorno; he was the greatest Italian fencer, and winner of an incredible number of gold medals. Various generations of athletes (not just the famous Montano clan) succeeded him, making Livorno fencing world-famous, as confirmed by the countless gold medals won at international and Olympic level. The mythical Livorno rowing crew, called the “Scarronzoni”, was awarded several Olympic medals and won many Italian and European titles between 1928 and 1940. A fair number of footballers have also hailed from Livorno, from Armando Picchi to the more recent Cristiano Lucarelli, Igor Protti and Giorgio Chiellini, as well as the well-known football manager Massimiliano Allegri.
Livorno has produced fine opera singers: the soprano Celeste Coltellini (1760-1829) and the tenor Galliano Masini (1896-1986); great musicians like Antonio Bacchelli (1944-1986), Federico Maria Sardelli, Marco Fornaciari and Ilio Barontini; singers and singer-songwriters like Nada Malanima, Piero Ciampi and Bobo Rondelli; there are film directors – Paolo Virzì and Francesco Bruni – and hosts of actors, from the famous Ernesto Rossi (1827-1896) to Carolina Internari (1783-1858); actresses in glamorous comedies (Doris Duranti and Vivi Gioi); and the more modern Thespians Marco Messeri, Maurizio Micheli and Emanuele Barresi. Naturally, Livorno has its share of comedians (Paolo Migone, Dario Ballantini and Paolo Ruffini).
The city produced the greatest Italian philatelist, Alberto Bolaffi, as well as the first female orchestra conductor to perform in Italy, Palmira Orso.
Livorno has also produced eminent figures in recent Italian social and political life, including the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and the Chief Rabbi of the Italian Jewish Community, Elio Toaff.
The city produced the greatest Italian philatelist, Alberto Bolaffi, as well as the first female orchestra conductor to perform in Italy, Palmira Orso.
Livorno has also produced eminent figures in recent Italian social and political life, including the President of the Republic Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and the Chief Rabbi of the Italian Jewish Community, Elio Toaff.