Leghorn

Leghorn (Ital. Livorno) runs Naples very close for the rank of second busiest seaport of Italy (Genoa being the first); it is situated on the west coast, by rail 13 miles SW. of Pisa and 62 W. by S. of Florence. Its importance as a commercial emporium dates from the decline of Pisa; its growth was especially rapid after it fell into the hands of Florence in 1421, for the Medici princes encouraged its prosperity in every way. Cosimo I. declared it a free port, the first in the Mediterranean, and invited foreign traders to settle there, and there is still a large foreign element amongst its merchants. Early in the 19th century it was a great depôt for the British trade with the Levant, but slowly lost this position after the 3d decade, because the British merchants began to send their goods to their destinations direct. Leghorn ceased to be a free port in 1868. At the present moment its foreign commerce, which is carried on chiefly with Britain (Newcastle and Cardiff), France (Marseilles), and the United States, is less in both bulk and value than its coasting trade, and since 1873 the former has been decreasing, whilst the latter has been increasing. The foreign commerce was carried on in 1885-95 by a total of about 1000 vessels per annum, entered and cleared, of near 500,000 tons, whereas the home trade engaged 6000 vessels of 2,000,000 tons. The imports, principally spirits, sugar, dyeing materials, woven goods, corn and flour, and machinery, may have an annual value of over £2,000,000; the exports, embracing wine, silk, marble, olive-oil, boric acid, hemp, iron, preserved fruits, leather, coral, and straw-hats ('Leghorn hats'; see STRAW), average £1,500,000 annually. The harbour (improved in 1854-63) is an enclosed basin, on which stand arsenals and shipbuilding-yards. One yard employs 1200 men, and builds the great Italian ironclads. The roadstead is protected by an artificial breakwater, built in 1883, which shelters vessels against all winds except the southerly. There is a lighthouse (since 1303) between the harbour basin and this outer breakwater; and on the shore, outside the harbour, stands a lazaretto. Besides shipbuilding, the most important industry is the manufacture of coral ornaments, by some 6000 women who work in their own homes. The value of the coral ornaments exported has sunk, however, from upwards of £300,000 per annum to less than half that value, in consequence of the fall in the price of coral. The houses of Leghorn are for the most part modern and well-built, lofty, and roomy; the streets are broad and clean; and there are some fine squares adorned with statues of the grand-dukes of Tuscany. The north-western portion of the city is intersected by numerous canals; hence it is called 'New Venice.' The most interesting of the public buildings are the cathedral (17th century), its facade designed by Inigo Jones, the Jewish synagogue (ranking for size next in Europe to that of Amsterdam), the former grand-ducal palace (1605), &c. The Academy of Sciences, with a library of 40,000 volumes, and the naval academy deserve mention. The sulphur-springs and sea-bathing attract a large concourse of visitors in the season. Leghorn is defended both land-wards and seawards by forts, bastions, and other fortifications, constructed for the most part in 1835-37. Smollett and Francis Horner lie buried in the cemetery of the English church. Pop. of the city (1861) 83,543; (1871) 80,948; (1881) 78,988; of the commune (1871) 97,096; (1881) 97,615; (1895) 104,500.