Leghorn

Leghorn. (Livorno), chief town of the province of Leghorn on the west coast of Italy, and next in commercial importance to Genoa and Naples. It is 15 miles by railway from Pisa, and stands on low ground backed by a ridge of hills, one of which is Monte Nero topped by an ancient monastery. Within the walls are broad streets of large houses with extensive squares, and outside are suburban villas. There are some fine statues, and among "the chief buildings are a cathedral, with facade by Inigo Jones, a town hall, oil warehouses built by Cosmo III. in 1705, subterranean reservoirs, and a Jewish synagogue almost rivalling that of Amsterdam. In the disused Protestant cemetery Smollett was buried. There is an "old port," protected from all winds, and having docks to the S. and E., and cotnmunicating with a network of canals - one reaching to the Arno - which have led to part of the city being called "Little Venice." The new port is protected by a breakwater a mile and a quarter from shore, and furthei improvements have been made with a view tc protecting it from the S. winds. Vessels moored to the breakwater are in safety. The principal trade is with Great Britain, France, and the United States, and there is a rapidly-increasing coasting. trade. Ship-building and the manufacture of coral ornaments are important industries, the lattei employing many women. Among the exports, which approach £200,000 in value, are wine, silk marble, oil, hemp, fruit, leather, coral, and hats.