page_title: Livorno
section_title: Medicean period (1500-1650)
hierarchical_section_title: Livorno / History / Medicean period (1500-1650)
caption_attribution_description: Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Livorno
context_page_description: Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn.
context_section_description: After the arrival of the Medici, the ruling dynasty of Florence, some modifications were made; between 1518 and 1534 the Fortezza Vecchia was constructed, and the voluntary resettlement of the population to Livorno was stimulated, but Livorno still remained a rather insignificant coastal fortress.
  By 1551, the population had grown to 1562 residents.
  During the Italian Renaissance, when it was ruled by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany of the House of Medici Livorno was designed as an "Ideal town". In 1577 the architect Bernardo Buontalenti drew up the first plan. The new fortified town had a pentagonal design, for which it is called Pentagono del Buontalenti, incorporating the original settlement. The Porto Mediceo was overlooked and defended by towers and fortresses leading to the town centre.
  In the late 1580s, Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, declared Livorno a free port (porto franco), which meant that the goods traded here were duty-free within the area of the town's control. In 1593, the Duke's administration established the Leggi Livornine to regulate the trade. These laws protected merchant activities from crime and racketeering, and instituted laws regarding international trade. The laws established a well-regulated market and were in force until 1603. Expanding Christian tolerance, the laws offered the right of public freedom of religion and amnesty to people having to gain penance given by clergy in order to conduct civil business. The Grand Duke attracted numerous Turks, Persians, Moors, Greeks, and Armenians, along with Jewish immigrants. Arrival of the latter begun in the late sixteenth century with the Alhambra Decree, which resulted in the expulsion of Jews from Spain and Portugal - while Livorno extended to them rights and privileges; they contributed to the mercantile wealth and scholarship in the city.
  Livorno became an enlightened European city and one of the most important ports of the entire Mediterranean Basin. Many European foreigners moved to Livorno. These included Christian Protestant reformers who supported such leaders as Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others. French, Dutch, and English arrived, along with Orthodox Greeks. Meanwhile, Jews continued to trade under their previous treaties with the Grand Duke. On 19 March 1606, Ferdinando I de' Medici elevated Livorno to the rank of city; the ceremony was held in the Fortezza Vecchia Chapel of Francis of Assisi.
  The Counter-Reformation increased tensions among Christians; dissidents to the Papacy were targeted by various Catholic absolute rulers. Livorno's tolerance fell victim to the European wars of religion. But, in the preceding period, the merchants of Livorno had developed a series of trading networks with Protestant Europe, and the Dutch, British, and Germans worked to retain these. In 1653 a naval battle, the Battle of Leghorn was fought near Livorno during the First Anglo-Dutch War.
caption: Santa Caterina, Livorno
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