holiday apartment rentals tuscany - Apartment in Livorno, Italy

LIVORNO: THE IDEALTOWN OF THE ITALIAN RENIASSANCE
To most outsiders, Livorno is famous for two things: football striker Cristiano Lucarelli and Leghorn chicken. However, Livorno also has a lot of other things to offer a visitor. This port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy is the capital of the province of Livorno and the third-largest port on the western coast of Italy, with a population of over 170,000. Livorno was described as an “ideal town” during the Renaissance, and even today, you can see its history in its canals, fortified town walls, and quaint streets, principally in the Venice district.

The “Leggi Livornine”, laws that came into force between 1590 and 1603, helped trade, provided freedom of religion, and amnesty for certain offences. Thanks to them, Livorno became home to plenty of foreigners, including Hebrews, Armenians, Greeks, the Dutch, and the English. The cosmopolitan nature of the city went a long way toward making it one of the most important ports of the Mediterranean.

Today, Livorno’s Venice district preserves most of its original town planning and architectural features such as bridges, narrow lanes, aristocrats’ residences and a network of canals that linked the port to storehouses. Livorno reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries, as neo-classical buildings thronged the city, museums and cultural institutions came up, and rich traders built Liberty villas with sea views. However, during the Napoleonic Wars, trade with England was banned and Livorno’s economy slumped. In 1868, after Livorno officially became part of Italy, its importance as a trading centre decreased.

Thanks to tourism, however, Livorno is once again on the international map, and visitors are invariably impressed with Livorno’s accommodation facilities, places of interest, and hospitality. The Museo Mascagnano, for instance, houses memorabilia, documents and operas by legendary composer Pietro Mascagni. Then there is the Sanctuary of Montenero, dedicated to Our Lady of the Graces, the patron saint of Tuscany. It is famed for its adjacent gallery, decorated with iconic representations telling stories of miraculous rescues at sea.

Also of great interest is the Monumento dei Quattro Mori (Monument of the Four Turks), dedicated to Grand Duke Ferdinando II de Medici. The Piazza della Republica contains a few important monuments, and is also a bridge (the largest in Europe), under which is an old canal. Also do not miss the old fortress, made with red bricks and built to defend the city from pirates at the time of the Medici. It has three bastions named Capitana, Ampolletta and Canaviglia.

So contact us today as you begin planning your Livorno trip. We have the best hotels and deals (www.yourwaytotuscany.com/Livorno.htm) and can guarantee you a memorable stay in Italy’s ideal Renaissance city!

HOW TO FIND THE BEST TUSCANY APARTMENT RENTALS

Tuscany is one of the finest regions of Italy, famed for its beautiful cities, gorgeous countryside, magnificent old palaces and churches, hospitable locals, excellent cuisine, and outstanding wines. The region receives hundreds of thousands of domestic and international tourists every year, and tourism is one of its largest industries. And while you, as a tourist, will find plenty to admire as you travel around the Tuscan countryside, what can you do to ensure that you stay at the best accommodations your money can buy? We have the answer, so come to us and we’ll show you the best Tuscany apartments to rent.

Imagine staying at the Casa Matilde – three wonderful rural apartments close to the village of Mercatale in the famous Chianti area (yes, the one with the world’s best wines). Casa Matilde is actually a rural house that dates back to 1200 AD, divided into three apartments, and furnished with impeccable taste. So on the one hand, while you can enjoy the charm of a medieval cottage, you will also have the benefit of a garden with barbecue, a furnished terrace, and a swimming pool.

Or take the Via di Mezzo Apartments near a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the historic centre of Florence. Located on the second floor of an 18th century building, the 120 sq. m apartment stands on a pleasant street in the heart of town, 150 yards from the Duomo, and 30 yards from the church of Sant’Ambrogio.

These are merely two of the many Tuscany rental apartments that you can access through us, at rates that are extremely reasonable. Besides, we offer you ultimate value for money because the apartments that we recommend are uniformly high quality, and tailor-made to suit all your requirements. We enable you to make direct contact with the owners of these apartments, and you will be able to check out each and every one of them before you decide on the Tuscany apartment that you wish to rent.

The apartments that we have selected are spread across a wide section of Tuscany, from Florence to Chianti near Florence to Siena to Pisa. So wherever you go, you can be sure that you will find the very best Tuscany rental apartments, yours for the duration of your visit. Not only will you have a pleasant stay in the choicest apartments in Tuscany, but we can also guarantee that once you have stayed in these apartments, you will want to stay nowhere else once you return to this beautiful land! For details, check out our comprehensive list of Tuscany apartments.

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