The Navicelli Channel is a channel built between 1563 and 1575 to connect

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

with the port of Livorno. The name originates from the so-called '' navicelli'', small sized Tuscan

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

s that transported goods on the channel across the Pisan plain from Lake Bientina to the area of

Empoli Empoli () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Florence, Tuscany, Italy, about southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno River, Arno in a plain formed by the river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Ancient Ro ...

History

In the 16th century, the mouth of the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a sou ...

river was a wetland affected by strong

sea A sea is a large body of salt water. There are particular seas and the sea. The sea commonly refers to the ocean, the interconnected body of seawaters that spans most of Earth. Particular seas are either marginal seas, second-order section ...

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hydr ...

s. For this reason, and because of a need to connect the new port of

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

to the Tuscan capital of

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, a channel was designed and built between the seaport and Pisa during the reign of Cosimo I de'Medici. The excavation cost only 5,000

shields A shield is a piece of personal armour held in the hand, which may or may not be strapped to the wrist or forearm. Shields are used to intercept specific attacks, whether from close-ranged weaponry like spears or long ranged projectiles suc ...

. The channel was opened to river traffic in 1603 and had a length of 22 km, 18 m width and a depth of 1.5 m. Later main changes were made in Livorno, where the building of the ''

Scolmatore dell'Arno Lo Scolmatore dell'Arno (The Arno floodway) is a artificial flood control channel of the river Arno from Pontedera to the Ligurian Sea at Calambrone. As a consequence of the Arno flood of 1949, it was decided to start the construction of ''Scol ...

'' channel imposed a new mouth for the Arno river before it entered the port itself, and in Pisa, where corresponding to the mercantile harbor of Pisa a new Incile was built further south than the dock of Pisa and buried at the end of the 20th century, while a long stretch of the canal in Livorno was buried in the district of Tower to make room for a wide straight road, resulting in the relocation of the channel port.

The channel today

Currently the channel is supervised by the ''Office of the Rivers and Streams'' and managed by the public company Navicelli SpA, which takes care of the logistics for the various industrial sites and the present development of the channel. The old Channel Navicelli, now ranked as a waterway, is 35 meters wide and has a draft of 3.50 meters (calculated light heavyweight), so boats can navigate "tidal" with tonnage up to 1,200 tons, maximum length of 90 meters, draft up to 2.60 meters and at speeds up to 6 knots. It has a straight course for 11 km from Pisa to the curve of the Arno Scolmatore.

External links

References

{{Authority control Canals in Italy Buildings and structures in Livorno Buildings and structures in Pisa Transport in Tuscany Canals opened in the 17th century Buildings and structures completed in 1603 Transport infrastructure completed in the 1600s 1575 establishments in Italy