What Cosimo I de’ Medici Did That Sacramento Can’t
By Jock O’Connell
It may be inconceivable that existing ports may have to be abandoned, even after tens of billions of dollars have been invested by public officials into these vital sources of jobs and tax revenue.
But it's not like it’s never happened before.
Visitors to Pisa may perceive it as a medieval city bisected by the Arno, the river largely famed for disastrously flooding Florence from time to time. Once past Pisa, the Arno reaches the Mediterranean about ten kilometers downstream. Long before it built its leaning tower, Pisa had been a major maritime power. Its original port was constructed by the Romans. From the 11th through the 13th centuries, the City of Pisa controlled large stretches of the Mediterranean with a powerful fleet. Corsica, Sicily, and portions of the African coast all fell under its domain. Galleys from Pisa fought in the Crusades and played an important role in the Battle of Lepanto, the 1571 naval encounter in which a coalition of Catholic states stymied the advance of the Ottoman fleet. Ultimately, though, Pisa’s status as a maritime power in the western Mediterranean was eclipsed by Genoa. Pisa then eased into a comfortable existence as a university town with a famous bell tower.
The proximate causes of Pisa’s decline as a maritime power were changing sea levels and the Arno’s inexorable habit of dumping huge deposits of silt that gradually altered the coastal topology. “The port complex that ensured Pisa’s position as an economic and military power progressively shifted westward by coastal degradation,” according to a 2018 study on the “The Lost Harbour of Pisa” published in Scientific Reports. What had been coastline suitable for maritime operations slowly transformed into lagoons, which in turn became swamps and then acreage suitable for agriculture. Despite huge expenditures of resources and capital, Pisa had to abandon its ancient port.
If Pisa (and much of the rest of Tuscany, including most importantly, Florence) were to retain an outlet to the sea, an ability to engage in maritime trade, and maintain a formidable fleet to protect its interests, a major decision had to be made.
So in 1572 Cosimo I of the ruling de Medici clan hit upon a simple, if expensive expedient. In his capacity as Duke of Florence and Grand Duke of Tuscany, he ordered the construction of an alternate port a short distance away in Livorno.
Livorno is today a significant port. In 2023, it handled approximately 600,000 TEUs of cargo, a classified portion of which is destined for what’s euphemistically designated as “Darby Military Community”, a sprawling supply base for NATO military operations in Africa and Europe.
Were the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland to become endangered by rising tides or seismic activity, would government leaders in Sacramento be able to mount a similar effort to build a new port?
As Mel Brooks once said: “It’s good to be the king.” Governor, not so much.
The commentary, views, and opinions expressed by Jock O’Connell are his own and do not reflect the views or positions of the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. PMSA does not endorse, support, or make any representations regarding the content provided by any third party commentator.