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The local area at the mouth of the River Arno, called Calambrone,
encompasses the seaside villages of Tirrenia and Marina di Pisa,
and is well served with every modern amenity. Marina di Pisa, some
five miles downstream from Pisa houses a colourful mixture of majestic
old villas, some original and others re-developed, alongside newly built
hotels and apartments. Tirrenia, which is close by, is a bustling, growing
modern resort catering mainly to an Italian clientele and the many Americans
who inhabit the nearby airbase.
Pisa has an enormously long history behind it. Starting out as an Etruscan settlement,
turned into a Roman city, wealthy Middle Ages, and now a modern city with
much to offer today’s traveller. Located on the banks on the river Arno,
this city boasts a number of interesting places to visit, such as the
Piazza of Miracles (Campo dei Miracoli) which has a reputation as one
of the world’s most beautiful squares. There are huge stretches of lawn here,
surrounded by buildings that represent human existence: the cathedral (health),
the world famous Leaning Tower (reason), the Baptistery (baptism),
and the cemetery (death). Pisa is easily accesible from most Eurpoean cities
with many of the budget airlines including Easyjet offering frequent flights there.
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Livorno was defined as an "ideal town" during the Renaissance.
Nowadays it reveals its history through its neighbourhoods,
crossed by canals and surrounded by fortified town-walls,
through the tangle of its streets, which embroider the town's
Venice district, and through the Medici Port characteristically
overlooked by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre.
The Museo Mascagnano houses memorabilia, documents and operas
by the great composer Pietro Mascagni. Every year some of his
operas are traditionally played during the lyric music season,
which is organised by the Traditional Theatre of Livorno.
The "Monumento dei quattro mori" ("Monument of the Four Turks"),
dedicated to Grand Duke Ferdinando II de' Medici of Tuscany, is one
of the most important monuments of Livorno.
Politically, Livorno is one of the most left-leaning cities of Italy.
The Communist Party of Italy was founded in Livorno on 21 January 1921.
There is a breed of chicken called leghorn, named after the city.
This in turn gave its name to the cartoon character Foghorn Leghorn.
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