Il cosiddetto “sostegno” all’imbocco del Canale dei navicelli (A. Matteucci)
Canale dei Navicelli
Il cosiddetto “sostegno” all’imbocco del Canale dei navicelli (A. Matteucci)In the 1500s, the need to create a link between Pisa and the future city of Livorno grew stronger, given the poor conditions of the Pisan docks, no longer suited to modern naval needs. In 1541, the layout of a connecting canal was planned, thanks to Cosimo I de’ Medici. However, its definitive inauguration took place in 1603, during the government of Ferdinando I. The name comes from boats about 15 meters long, the 'navicelli' (small boats), which run along its waters. Near the Porta Degazia Nuova a shed was erected to shelter the ships and their goods from bad weather: the Sostegno, damaged during the bombings of the Second World War. The urban part of the canal was buried in the twentieth century and its mouth in the Arno was moved further west, with the opening of a new section. The canal is now navigable.
