Cuore Labronico

The term Labronico indicates an absolutely different world, linked to those who possess language, spirit, culture and ancestry, ingredients of a quintessence with deep roots, immersed in the most remote times.

The Tuscan city of Livorno has origins that are lost in the legend of the mythological temple of Ercole Labrone, around which the oldest inhabited area of the city would have developed. Built by the Lidi, an Anatolian population linked to the cult of Hercules Labrone, a figure adored in particular near the waters and above all in the ports.

Main port of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and one of the busiest ports in the entire Mediterranean basin, Livorno became an important economic center animated by merchants from any nation, as specified by the Livornine Laws issued by Ferdinando I De' Medici, which gave it the characteristics of cosmopolitan city par excellence.

Livorno is therefore a city with a port identity and centuries-old maritime tradition. In this context, some epic figures called in dialect "Risiatori" were born. Seafarers and longshoremen who, every day, braved the sea aboard small fishing boats to reach incoming ships and thus ensure the right to be able to unload them. Each district had its own crew of Risicatori who, given their importance in the community economy, were considered and respected as personalities.

Every year the city sees this piece of history brought back to life through "rowing competitions" between the city districts; a series of spectacular challenges, soaked in sweat and brackish. Not only real sports competitions, but also great celebrations of passion and folklore which, with ups and downs, have renewed the link between Livorno and its sea for about five hundred years.

(Chapter extracted from the long-term project “MEDITERRANEUS”, a contemporary Odyssey that aims to encounter realities linked to its roots, intertwining its historical origins with the difficulties of the contemporary world that can lead to the loss of identity and culture, rediscovering that authenticity and diversity that give humanity the true wealth. In a world that wants us to be faster and more efficient, in which the individual is losing awareness of fundamental values, moving further and further away from himself, this introspective journey of mine through space and time aims to bring attention back to who we are and where we come from, in that part of the world that has always been considered the cradle of humanity.)