Cattedrale di San Francesco (Duomo di Livorno)

The Cathedral of San Francesco stands on Piazza Grande in Livorno. Its history joins the foundation of the Medici city with the rebuilding that followed the destruction of the Second World War.

Why it matters

The church formed a religious focus within Livorno's planned urban centre. Later enlargement, elevation to cathedral rank and postwar reconstruction gave it several distinct architectural and institutional phases.

What to notice

The portico and facade establish a formal frontage towards the square. Inside, paintings preserved from the earlier ceiling recall its seventeenth-century decoration by Jacopo Ligozzi, Passignano and Jacopo Chimenti. Giovanni Battista Foggini's monument to Alessandro del Borro adds a sculptural memorial to the church's artistic history.

Context and history

Construction began in 1594 under Ferdinando I, with the project associated with Bernardo Buontalenti and the work of Alessandro Pieroni and Antonio Cantagallina. Consecration followed in 1606. Eighteenth-century chapels enlarged the building before it became a cathedral in 1806. Bombing in 1943–1944 caused extensive destruction. Reconstruction in the postwar years recovered the church's role on Piazza Grande while introducing changes to parts of its architecture.