Livornoin Tuscany, Italy 4k. Not just a gateway port to Pisa

Livorno on the Italian coast is often regarded as a gateway port to Florence or Pisa and why not they're both great destinations but of course it has its own charm. The information and tourism office is exactly where the bus drops you off and waiting for you will be a number of walking tours. There's the red top bus, this one's religious based. It's a donation of around 20 euro but if you go into the waiting room and scan the app you'll get points dropped onto your google maps of all the places you might want to visit. We'll try and explain those to you. All right so now not even two minutes away from the shuttle bus is the grand square and in the grand square you'll find the cathedral. There's the historic area, there's the Venice area around the canals and the modern front along the promenade. In the rain the marble outside the cathedral is very slippy so watch your feet. That's an understatement it's very slippery. The Cappella de Santissimo Sacramento houses a very important 15th century painting of Christ Quite a good tip for Livorno, watch the weather because if it is pouring down with rain neither Pisa or Florence will be a lot of fun. We're going towards Lago del Duomo down here but it's raining just a bit or just a lot so we're going to duck out for a coffee before we visit the synagogue behind the coffee shop. As it's Sunday like so many places it's closed. This interesting building is the synagogue of Livorno. 1962 modern synagogue was built on top of the 17th century temple that was floored by allied bombing. As we walk up the road we cross one of the Venice-like canals and find this statue in a great square that leads us to a number of places. Here's a statue of Amadeo Modigliani who lived in Livorno. He was affectionately known as Dido or Dido we don't know which way you say it and we're just going to have a look at his house. It's very easy to walk past this we did quite a few times. It's actually got a sign on the door but so easy to miss and it's above the hair and beauty shop. Look across the road you've just walked up and you'll see the roof of the theatre. This is the Golden Theatre which is apparently one of the most prestigious theatres in Italy and it features an amazing glass roof. Italy is about churches. This cathedral is not on our walking tour so I went into google maps and I clicked on google lens and it told me that this is the Cattedrale di San Francesco and it features a neo-classical facade with a large clock and a statue of an angel above the entrance. The monument in front is dedicated to the fallen of world war one and it's got a group of bronze figures which it has. Well done google lens. Certainly the use of the smartphone is increasing. Everybody is using it to find their way around and things like city apps and this walking tour help you get around. We've reached the central market which of course is closed today because it's a Sunday but I'm sure on a weekday it's full of hustle and bustle. It's a lovely building. This street via della Madonna is a testament to the cosmopolitan origins of the city. There are three churches in this street. The Armenian church, monument is the government palace and this is the seat of local government. Livorno is a real mix of old and new buildings. Behind me is the old fortress which is the most important historic monument here and it's right next to the new marina with all the modern shops and cafes. This 16th century marble statue by Giovanno Bandini symbolizes the victory over the pirates in the Tuscan seas. Please share with your friend and hey while we were here we found an Italian fan who showed us that we get translated and speak Italian in Italy. We're at Nico's which is a lovely little Italian restaurant by the roundabout and the best thing about it for us is we looked at the menu it was all in Italian but they speak perfect English here. The daughters are studying in England so you'll be made very welcome and everything will be explained. Although as you probably know your smartphone will translate the menu. You can probably get around Livorno quite quickly looking at all the monuments and churches etc so you might be happy to come to this modern complex where there are definitely good toilets inside and restaurants for refreshments. So now you can see in the distance the MSC ship has got the nearest dock in Livorno. Queen Victoria's got the second one and I believe there's another two cruise ships beyond that so I think there's four cruise ships in town today. So I'm glad I've seen Livorno but I don't need to come back here next time I think I'll use it as a gateway port to Pisa and Florence. The red top bus which leaves just up the hill from the port will take you all the way to Nice but there's enough to see in Villefranche. This city door was built in 1557. In La Porte de La Santé is St Peter's Chapel which was built by the fishermen and was decorated by Jean Courtauld. This statue in the middle of Virgin Square is to represent the river which flowed over where the park is but was then diverted after the great floods in October in 1957. So this is the church in the square of the Virgin and it's beautiful inside. I used to love reading historical novels about the Borgias. They were so wicked, they all slept with each other, they were incestuous, they poisoned each other and there were only two popes from Valencia and one of them was Alexander Borgia. In theory if I walk to the very end of this park, it's 47 minutes, I'll come out to where the shuttle bus stops. The market closes at three so if you want to go and visit the market you need to go in the morning. We've just had a very interesting walking tour where we learned that paella is not the Spanish national dish, it's from Valencia and the Spanish national dish is Spanish omelette. Also we learned that paella does not have seafood in it, it has chicken and rabbit and garlic, a little bit of garlic. That is the traditional paella and no chorizo Jamie Oliver. The Unexpected is dark, intense and sophisticated. It blends pulse-pounding action with emotionally enriched character drama, balancing suspense, sharp humor and cultural insight. It's layered with complexity and always emotionally resonant, where freedom dances on the edge of betrayal. The Cruise Crime Novel with Espionage, out now on Kindle, paperback and audiobook.