Friday, March 20, 2009

Leghorn “la Cara”

Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany by the sculptor Francesco PozziMany Italian cities have a qualifying adjective dear to their citizen, that at the first blush seems to be a complete misnomer, but that time and study show to be pre-eminently apt and true. Florence is “la bella”, but this you never comprehend until you come to look down upon the city from the heights of San Miniato or Fiesole.
Lucca is “l'industriosa”, but even after a week's sojourn you rub your eyes and ask if this is not Sleepy Hollow.
Genoa is “la superba”, but her glory is at first sight dimmed by obstrusiveness and omnipresence of the commercial element.
Montgomery Carmichael, British Consul in Leghorn, LivornoAnd Leghorn is “la cara”. Surely no attribute could be glaringly incorrect. And yet let the traveller cease awhile from travelling and take his rest by the Liburnian shore, let him dip in the tonic waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, and walk by its shores in the cool spring days and warm winter afternoons, drinking in the health-giving breezes and feasting on the glories of the Gorgonian Archipelago, let him mingle freely with the cheery, courteous, contented Livornesi, who dearly love to bid a stranger welcome, and he will see that Time has well named Leghorn “la cara”, and that she is dear indeed.

(Montgomery Carmichael, “In Tuscany”
John Murray, London 1901)

Montgomery Carmichael was the British vice consul and then consul for the area of Tuscany (except Florence), Umbria, the Marche and San Marino from 1890 to 1922. After retiring, he lived in Livorno until his death in 1936.
The first photo portrays the monument to Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in Piazza della Repubblica.
The second image is a portrait of the consul found in a copy of a now defunct publication: “La Canaviglia” (from the name of the bastion of the Fortezza Vecchia), a precious source for many of these posts.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

You've captured some stunning colors in your photo. I like the contrast between blue and white. Well done :-)

cieldequimper said...

It like the fact that we're seeing the back of the statue! Have a great weekend!

Jane Hards Photography said...

Gorgeous image and wonderful write up.

Marcel said...

I notice especially the background of the image, a clear bleu sky! lovely, so need to have that arround me... Cheers from Marcel

B SQUARED said...

Very impressive against the sky.

Lowell said...

That's a most interesting perspective! Catchy! I also appreciate the background material!

Thanks, too, for your visit to Ocala DP and your kind comments!

crocrodyl said...

Great compositon of white and blue:)

Tash said...

Awsome photo of the sculpture - there is so much movement implied.
And the tribute that M. Carmichael paid to Livorno is wonderful. Thanks for all the insight esp. from books we are not likely to come across anywhere else.

Saretta said...

"La cara"? Not because of the price of living, I hope! :-)

madmats said...

Great ! I have all issues of the "Canaviglia" but I didn't remember Montgomery Carmichael's picture. I have a very particular relationship to him since I know his passion for Livorno and history. Thanks !

madmats said...

Ops ! I almost forgot. I wanted to inform you that I linked my blog to your blog on my main-page, here it is:
http://leghornmerchants.wordpress.com/

VP said...

@ madmats - I am fascinated (and awed) by your blog, this is a great project and I hope to have the 'tools' to follow it.
My only worry is now about all the inaccuracies and blatatnt errors which I may have dispersed in my blog...
I wasn't able to find your email so, if you like, please contact me at livornodailyphoto@gmail.com.