The miracle of the tsunami in Livorno

At about 10 km from Livorno, on a hill from which you can enjoy a splendid view of the city, but sometimes even Pisa and the Island of Elba, lies the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Montenero, who, among other things, is also the patron saint of Tuscany. Since the foundation, its history has been intertwined with a series of miraculous events that according to tradition are still occurring. To understand this, just visit the gallery of ex-votos, a collection of the most disparate objects that are a testimony of the received graces and miracles. Among the 700 memorabilia collected inside, you can really find all sorts of things: car parts involved in some serious accident, clothes, crutches and paintings depicting the events with often questionable artistic results.

There is a miracle performed by the Madonna of Montenero which is however particularly dear to the inhabitants of Livorno. To tell you what happened we need to go back to 1472. That year, in fact, on January 27th, a violent earthquake struck, followed by a tsunami, as we would call it today. The tsunami created considerable problems to the ships moored in the port and together with what was probably an earthquake swarm, caused a lot of panic in the city. The inhabitants immediately thought of turning to the Madonna di Montenero and even brought her into Piazza Grande. They asked for the tremors to be stopped and in exchange promised to keep the shrine's votive lamp supplied with oil every year and to never start the carnival before January 27th.

Apparently, the Madonna fulfilled their wow as the quakes ceased but from then on, January 27th is an important date in Livorno which is remembered with various religious celebrations. Furthermore, needless to say, carnival celebrations never begin before that day. Did we make you feel like going on a trip to Livorno? How about taking advantage of our Hop On Hop Off city tour? You can explore the two splendid Tuscan cities on board the Sightseeing buses!