24 Giu Today’s the day for the Old Fortress
Today’s the day for the Old Fortress. Livorno’s historical landmark reopens after being closed for over 100 days due to the Coronavirus emergency.
As in any other cultural venue, to enter this Medicean treasure you will have to wear a mask, which is obligatory throughout the visit. The Fortress is accessible through the pedestrian gate located at the Varco Fortezza and from the entrance inside the passenger area of the port while it will not be possible to use the pedestrian bridge for the moment.
To “celebrate” the happy event, the Port Network Authority’s top management and representatives from Tuscany Regional Administration and the Livorno Municipality met this morning in the Fortress’ Sala Ferretti.
“We are reopening after a long emergency period” – said the President of the North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority, Stefano Corsini – “This is an important day which marks the resumption of the fruitful collaboration that our Port Authority, Livorno Municipality and Tuscany Regional Administration had successfully set in motion in the interests of the community and the local area. Now let’s move forward, with a rich programme of events, which we will constantly update, and the desire to reach new milestones in enhancing such an important resource.”
Tuscany Regional Administration’s Councilor for Education, Cristina Grieco, who spoke this morning together with the Regional Councilor Francesco Gazzetti, expressed her satisfaction: “Today is a beautiful day “- she said – “The Fortress is a treasure not only for the city of Livorno but also for our region. Its reopening marks the recommencement of a process of improvement, thanks to which it will be possible to develop a transversal tourist offer to recuperate its central importance. We are proud to have bet on the potential of this Monument.”
The Mayor of Livorno, Luca Salvetti, emphasized the doubly positive moment, both from an organizational-managerial and emotional point of view: “You can’t even try to imagine Livorno without its symbolic monument. The Fortress reopens today after an emergency period and after months of talking about the possibility – which I opposed right from the beginning – of its closure. From today, this treasure is once again an important landmark for our community”, concluded Mr. Salvetti announcing that the Monument will be included as an attraction in the “Effetto Venezia e dintorni” program
The next few days will see the formalization of the constitution of a Technical Committee with the task of preparing a cultural development project for the Old Fortress. This project was set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed last February by the Tuscany Regional Administration, Livorno Municipality and the North Tyrrhenian Port Network Authority. The committee will be coordinated by Tuscany Regional Administration. Its objective will be to define the procedural guidelines to be followed to allow the transfer of ownership of the monument from the State Property Office to the local authorities.