The tour of the Fossi by boat
The tour of the Fossi by boat with the passage under the Voltone is a unique experience. The system of ditches and canals of Venezia Nuova, although subject to numerous changes over the centuries, maintains much of its charm unaltered, so much so that, since 2002, it has been encouraged to be included in the list of 'Humanity. The tour follows the path of the Fosso Reale that surrounds the pentagon of Buontalenti, a ring of the sea that for centuries has sealed the lucky marriage between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Mediterranean Sea The canals built by the Grand Dukes of Tuscany are characterized by a history and an architectural system that make them a unique example. The ditches were dug in 28 years starting from 1577, as a formidable defense to protect the nascent Livorno. The characteristic name of Fossi, with which they have always been called, derives precisely from the fact that they were born as large military ditches to isolate the city and its fortresses. The route passes in the Venice District with its characteristic eighteenth-century architecture, passes under the imposing walls of the Old Fortress and the New Fortress and navigates among the palaces of the merchants, built by the peoples of Europe and beyond, in which the stories of the great foreign families who gave birth to the rich City of Nations. It winds under the nineteenth-century Piazza della Repubblica which, with its 220 meters in width, is the widest bridge-square in Europe, reaching the shadow of the gigantic but elegant Vettovaglie Market, one of the largest on the continent. Passing from Porto Mediceo to Darsena Vecchia we will find ourselves in front of the sculptural group dedicated to Ferdinando I de 'Medici, which has always been known as the monument of the Quattro Mori, a sixteenth-century celebration of the maritime power of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and a symbol of the city. Each glimpse is a suggestion and a story, each cellar on the water is a glimpse into a world populated by merchants, smugglers, people who have lived in a reality halfway between sea and land.
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