The ports of Livorno, Piombino and Elba possess an immeasurable architectural wealth distributed over key port areas which interface with their urban contexts (waterfront). A heritage that has to be safeguarded and used in the best possible way to ensure that it’s passed on to future generations. This was the starting point for the conference this afternoon in the splendid setting of Livorno’s Old Fortress.
The initiative was organized by the Port Network Authority with Pisa University’s support. It provided an opportunity to compare notes on enhancing the monumental and architectural heritage under the Port Network Authority’s jurisdiction.
Not only prominent experts such as Valerio Tesi, Superintendent of Fine Arts and Landscape in the Pisa and Livorno areas, and historian Olimpia Vaccari (member of the Commission for Cultural Heritage and Cultural Activities at the Associazione di Fondazioni e di Casse di Risparmio S.p.A) discussed the topic but also institutional representatives, including the mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, Port Network Authority (PNA) president, Luciano Guerrieri, and PNA senior executives Sandra Muccetti responsible for planning and Claudio Capuano, head of promotion. Also attending were Marco Macchia, representing the Rector of the University of Pisa, and the President of Tuscany Regional Administration, Eugenio Giani, who gave the closing speech.
During the conference, the many structural waterfront redevelopment projects devised or initiated over the years by the PNA were listed and an account of their progress was given.
The Marzocco Tower project is particularly important. The Superintendency has already given its approval. It has been included in the 20-million-euro maxi-contract to widen port’s harbour access canal, which was put to tender at the beginning of the summer.
Originally built at sea five centuries ago, 54 metres high, the tower now stands on dry land in the industrial part of the port, hidden between cranes and containers. The tender, which is currently being awarded, envisages the construction of canal around the Renaissance asset, so it will be surrounded by water once again. Prior to carrying out the definitive excavation operation for the stretch of water, the competent bodies will carry out restoration work on both the monument and its fortifications. Ultimately, the aim is to make this monument accessible so it can be visited by the general public.
Another project in an advanced state of planning is putting the Old Fortress back in its original water context. Up until now this asset has been managed by the Port Network Authority. Soon it will be under Livorno Municipality’s jurisdiction, as part of the cultural federalism process launched in 2020. The PNA, through the Porto Immobiliare company led by Lorenzo Riposati, wants to try to contract the work out by next year. The aim is to surround the fortress with water once again. In what way? With a canal that will completely encompass it, plus three new footbridges. The project also foresees the construction of a new public square overlooking the ramparts and the city, a stone’s throw from the part of the port dedicated to passenger traffic. In June, Andrea Cecconi architecture firm presented the final project to Porto Immobiliare, with a cost estimate (which amounts to €4.4 million). Over the next few months, the executive project will be presented, after which it will be possible to go to tender.
In addition, we should not underestimate the strategic importance of the redevelopment of the Forte di Bocca, an artefact of rare beauty set in the Porto Mediceo (the historical Medicean port area), built between 1609 and 1621 to defend the port on the Molo Cosimo seawall built on two levels (the galleries that housed the fusiliers, and one above for the cannons).
The Port Network Authority has been working for some time on bringing this masterpiece of military engineering back to its original splendour. In 2020 work on making part of the basement of the fortified complex safe again was completed. It was cleaned and freed from the rubble and 20th-century additions that were destroyed by bombing during World War II. The PNA will soon put the second part of the work out to tender. Hopefully this will start in spring 2024. Once finished, it will be possible to proceed with restoring the upper part of the infrastructure which houses two buildings, now home respectively to the Yachting Club (since 1968) and Livorno Harbour Pilots.
Other equally important projects include putting the Sassaia fort back in its original water context and restoring the Dutch canal wall, which will shortly be put out to tender (the aim is to award the contract next spring).
In Piombino, the PNA, instead, is adopting a more straightforward approach to the waterfront enhancement work. This includes the eco-friendly revamping of the Passenger terminal facility, building a new harbour pilot tower, and waterfront enhancement work along the concrete wave-protection barrier of the breakwater on the Molo Nord and the Molo Batteria piers.In Portoferraio, the renovation of the former Cromofilm building, which the PNA has already devised an initial architectural project for, has acquired strategic value. The work includes the renovation and redevelopment of the former Cromofilm and the “ex dockers’” warehouse building complex in order to give the entire seafront a homogenous identity. Rooms will be designed on the ground floor for the Passenger Terminal and on the upper floors for port operators and port security forces. The project still requires some additional engineering specifications before it can be put out to tender.
“Enhancing the area’s cultural heritage is an integral part of the PNA’s mission,” said President Luciano Guerrieri. “These monuments represent the heritage of the past and are a strong reminder of our community identity. Safeguarding and making the most of them means, in a nutshell, ensuring sustainable development for our ports,’ he added, emphasizing how important it is to network and get all institutions working together in the same way.
According to Livorno’s mayor, the Scoglio della Regina, the magnificent lighthouse, the Forte di Bocca , the Old Fortress, the Silos Granario, the Marzocco tower and the Dogana d’Acqua represent “a panorama of immense value that the city cannot but take advantage of.” In Mr. Salvetti’s opinion, “public administrations have a great opportunity to make this heritage part of a detailed, organic proposal to present to local citizens. It is all based on the awareness of a city that has been inspired by the port as a way of life and a source of social development.” he concluded.
Superintendent Tesi spoke of cultural heritage as something that enhances the community’s identity and its identification with places and local areas. Marco Macchia highlighted the need to make the most of cultural heritage, an approach the University is adopting.
“In Tuscany, cultural heritage has often been a core issue in cities like Florence, Lucca, and Siena. In Livorno it has been deeply intertwined with the dynamics of its port,” said Mr. Giani, who believes the city is capable of becoming Tuscany’s cultural hub. ‘The Old Fortress is more than a symbol,” the President of Tuscany Regional Administration went on to say, “but it can allow the city to develop its own vocation as an exhibition and cultural centre. Our Regional Administration is here and will not fail to provide its support, also in economic terms.”
Translation by Giles Foster