The Seventeenth Century
From the beginning of the seventeenth century, with the increase in trade in the port of Livorno and the establishment of the free port, the need to expand goods storage areas and to strengthen security for ships docked in the port became urgent. There thus occurred a radical redefinition of the docks and a complex canalisation project that turned part of the military moats of the fortifications into navigable canals, onto which warehouses opened directly, to facilitate the unloading and storage of goods from the harbour, awaiting sorting and sale.
This was the situation that led to the creation of the Venezia Nuova Quarter, built from 1629 onwards according to Giovan Battista Santi’s project. To make space for the construction of this merchant district, a large part of the immediately adjacent New Fortress was demolished (about two-thirds). The defensive system encompassed, apart from the New Fortress itself, the San Pietro Fort and the Ravelin of San Marco, sturdy architectural structures that have been subject to dramatic alteration over time.
A result of the commercial fervour animating the new canal network was the shifting of the Customs House (1647) from the harbour-front to the entrance of the new district. The political and commercial long-sightedness of the Medici allowed foreign consuls and merchants from various foreign countries to settle in Livorno and to establish roots in the Venezia Quarter. Their mansions were structured on various levels: the cellars at water level for the unloading of goods, the warehouses at street level for their storing, with the main residence on the upper floors. Cellars and storerooms were connected externally by stone-paved walkways which descend from the street to the canal walls and which can still be seen and walked along today beside the canals of Venezia. Some of these old storage spaces have been repurposed into lively pubs and clubs.
At that time, Livorno was an open-air building site! A leading player in this hotbed of activities was Ferdinando Maria de’ Medici, heir to Cosimo III, who chose Livorno as his favourite town, establishing his court there.
It is thanks to him that we also had the honour of hosting in Livorno the most famous Grand-ducal architect in Tuscany, Giovan Battista Foggini, creator of many Baroque works who was involved particularly in the creation of the Venezia Nuova Quarter.