04 Jun The Port (Network) Authority: a 25-year long-story
2020 marks an important anniversary: the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Port Authority. In its first quarter of a century, the Authority that now governs the ports of Livorno and Piombino has overcome global crises (like the one in 2008, the effects of which have changed the world.), and has set in motion important work and projects for developing its ports, bringing traffic and employment to the port of Livorno.
The Port Master Plan approved in 2015; the consolidation of the Port Manpower Agency in 2016; the transformation of an intermodal centre, Amerigo Vespucci, into a modern freight village; taking-over a historical monumental treasure, the Old Fortress, which in the space of few months became an attraction for thousands of tourists and local citizens, a symbol of the convergence between the port and its city and a point of reference for the urban-port waterfront; the development of traffic and setting national records in the handling of ro-ro cargo and new cars.
These are just some of the results that the Port Authority has achieved over the years, under the leadership of four presidents (Nereo Marcucci, Roberto Piccini, Giuliano Gallanti and Stefano Corsini) and various periods of commissioning.
It all began on the morning of May 31st, 1995 when the president of the first Port Authority to be established in Italy, Nereo Marcucci, climbed the stairs of the historic Palazzo Rosciano, opening an important new chapter in the history of the port of Livorno. From that moment on, the hands of time have been ticking fast, bringing the Port Authority to have a new name (North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority) and a wider range of competences, having the ports of Livorno, Piombino, Portoferraio, Rio Marina, Cavo and Capraia Island under its jurisdiction .
“Celebrating the origins of the Port Authority is not an exercise in simple rhetoric, especially at such a dramatic time as the one we are living in”, said the managing director of the Port Network Authority, Massimo Provinciali, who added: ” People come and go and institutions remain, but people bring progress and that is why it is right to pay tribute today to all those who, over the last 25 years, have worked from their offices at the Port Authority for the good of the port.”
Today the North Tyrrhenian Port Network is one of the largest in terms of total traffic (over 42 million tons of goods, representing 14% of Italian port traffic and 9 million passengers handled annually) and holds the national record in the rolling stock traffic sector in terms of tons handled and number of commercial vehicles.
“If it’s true that we stand on the shoulders of giants, we owe what we have become above all to those who have preceded us over the years at the helm of the organization” – Mr. Provinciali concluded – “I am thinking in particular of Giuliano Gallanti: without his foresight, perhaps today we would not be where I have had the honour and pleasure of working directly or indirectly with all the presidents, but my thoughts, at this moment, can only go particularly to Giuliano Gallanti: without his foresight, perhaps we would not be where we are today. If the port of Livorno has a future called Darsena Europa, we owe much of it to him.”
To fittingly celebrate the occasion, the Port Network Authority had organized a programme of events. However, the celebrations have been postponed due to the Coronavirus.