In the year 1421 the Republic of Florence obtained full control over the Castle of Livorno, then a small village in a cove just south of the ancient “Sinus pisanus” (Pisan Gulf).The Marzocco tower was built around the mid-15th century on an islet in the area of the “Porto Pisano” and was probably the first important work in Livorno under the Florentine rule. The tower was probably built more for pride than to protect the old harbor, already almost interred at the time.
The name came from the Florentine lion “Marzocco” on a weather vane on top of the tower. It was lost during a storm in 1737.
The octagonal tower is 54 meter tall and is still partly surrounded by a later artillery fort. Its walls were following what was then the rocky coastline of the island, still visible in the old postcard.The island, now firmly linked to the mainland, is practically in the middle of the main cargo area of the port of Livorno, as you can easily see in this image from the post “Cranes”.
The last postcard is the print of a watercolored version of the one above, with some boats added just for fun. All these cards are dated from the first years of 1900.
We can see the tower on a postage stamp of a set of three issued in 1931 for the 50th anniversary of the Naval Academy of Livorno.
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