LEGHORN (Livorno), one of the chief Mediterranean seaports, is a city of Tuscany, in the modern province of Livorno, 50 m. w.s.w. of Florence, and 14 in. s.s.w. of Pisa; lat. 43' 32' 7' n., long. 10° 17 7" e.; pop. '71, of Leghorn, 80,914,; or including its three suburbs. Torretta, Sta Lucia, and S. Jacopo, 89,462.
Till 1868 Leghorn was a free port, and it has long been one of the leading emporiums of trade in Italy. Its import trade used to be estimated at S:2,000,000 yearly, the chief imports being from England and France. Ever since the abolition of its privileges as a free port, the trade of Leghorn has not been lessened, but only changed in character. It is now less a port of deposit than of transit to and from the interior of the kingdom. The town is partly intersected with canals, by which merchandise is conveyed from the harbor to the numerous warehouses of the city. The port consists of an inner and outer harbor, the latter being sheltered by a mole, which projects into the sea upwards of half a mile, close to the great light-house. To secure increased shipping accommodation, a new harbor has been constructed for the reception of vessels of considerable tonnage. The roadstead, which is capacious,.lies W.D.W. of the harbor, and is protected by towers and a castle. On an island s. of the harbor stands the lazaretto. The town is connected by railways with Rome, Pisa, Carrara, and the other parts of Italy.
The pop. comprises natives of many climes (Greeks, Armenians, Turks, Moors, etc.), Whose foreign appearance and striking garb give a picturesque appearance to the place. This concourse of strangers is further enlarged in the summer season by a great influx of native and foreign visitors, who resort to Leghorn for its baths and mineral springs, the tarter of which enjoy high medical repute. The town itself is chiefly of modern origin, and destitute of the grand historical associations and classical monuments which invest most Italian cities with their highest interest; its fine Mediterranean site, animated aspect, and great commercial life are its principal attractions. The streets are regular
and well paved, but narrow, and, in consequence of being flanked by high houses, they are for the most part dark and gloomy. The churches are numerous. Many of the private dwellings of Leghorn are tasteful and luxurious, and charming villas abound in the environs. 'Ile public institutions are well organized, and include three hospitals, art observatory, a poorhouse, and a free library. Some years ago, the circuit of the town was extended by the demolition of old fortifications, and the extension of the barriers or city walls. The manufactures of Leghorn are various and important; it possesses great factories of oil, tobacco, soap, salt, and the well-known liquor Roso/io; its distilleries and dyeing works are also celebrated. Its chief exports are raw and manufactured silks, straw-hats and straw-plaiting, oil, fruits, borax, cheese, anchovies, marble, sulphur, and coral. Its imports comprise colonial produce, raw and manufactured cotton, and wool, cutlery, hardware, metallic goods, earthenware, and salted fish.
Towards the end of the 13th c. Leghorn was an unprotected village, which only assumed some importance on the destruction of the port of Pisa, and especially on its being assigned to Florence in 1421. Alessandro dei Medici constructed its citadel and fortified the town; Cosmo I. declared it a free port, and from that time dates the rise of its prosperity. In the 17th c,, under Ferdinand I., it was a town of great commercial importance; and during the French imperial occupation of Italy, Leghorn was proclaimed the chief town of the department of the Mediterranean. In tire Italia") revolutions suc ceeding 1830, Leghorn took a foremost part.