Porto Mediceo (Mediceo Port), Livorno

In 1572 Cosimo I commissioned Bartolomeo Ammannati to build fortified wharves and docks to connect within a quadrangular perimeter the Old Fortress with the Lighthouse of the Pisans (Fanale dei Pisani). Three structures, Ferdinando Port, Cosimo Port, and Mediceo Port, were constructed.

Ferdinando Port was 1,340 feet long. It extended from the harbor opening inlet to the Old Dock near the old fortress. The Cosimo Port is perpendicular to the Ferdinando Port, and it is 788 feet in length. The Cosimo Port ends at the Sassaia Fort, a blockhouse built over the Sassaia reef.

The Mediceo Port is an extension of Cosimo Port extending from the Sassaia reef, northwest, and parallel to the coast. It is 1,544 feet long and 821 feet wide. At the end of the port is the Wharf Fortress (Fortezza del Molo), once used to guard the port entrance. Mediceo Port could accommodate as many as 140 deep-sea vessels in its heyday.