The Navicelli Channel is a channel built between 1563 and 1575 to connect Pisa 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, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

s that transported goods on the channel across the

Pisan plain Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' 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 its leaning tower, the cit ...

from Lake Bientina to the area of Empoli.

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 ...

river was a wetland affected by strong

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

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

, 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 or projectiles such as arrows, by means of ...

. 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'' 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

{{Authority control Canals in Italy Buildings and structures in Livorno Buildings and structures in Pisa Transport in Tuscany Canals opened in 1603 1575 establishments in Italy