transform Livorno from a fishing village in a fortified town to accommodate 12,000 inhabitants, to include the original settlement and the Fortezza Vecchia, capable to become the trade centre of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. The development of the project led to a pentagonal plant as in use in the Renaissance period, each side 600 meters long, with defensive walls, rampant and five bastions at the vertices, surrounded by canals; the fifth bastion coincided with Fortezza Vecchia. The plan gave no information regarding the function of the new urban area, indicating only a series of building blocks within a road system absolutely orthogonal, cardo and Decumanus Maximus. The road axis from north to south (cardo) underline the direction that united the centre of the town with a significant place as the Sanctuary of Montenero; the axis from west to east (decumanus) linked the Baluardo Santa Giulia to Baluardo Sant’Andrea. In August 1576 was created the Office of the Fabbrica di Livorno with the task of supervising the construction and Alessandro Puccini was the chief superintendent. Francesco I de' Medici laid the first stone for the construction of the Baluardo di San Francesco (Saint Francis rampant) of the new town on 28 March 1577; the works went on with several changes compared with the original plan including the construction of the Fortezza Nuova. Livorno became a town, encircled by the navigable Fosso Reale (Royal canal), with numerous palaces, warehouse, garrisons and custom-houses. The central street at that time was Via Ferdinanda extended for 750 meters, later called Via Grande, from Porta Colonnella (Colonella city gate), in the proximity of Vecchia Darsena, to Porta Pisana (Pisan city gate). The Baluardo Sant’Andrea was initiated in 1578 while the Baluardo Santa Giulia started in 1582. In 1594 it was decided to create a huge square, at halfway of Via Ferdinanda, where to build the church of the new town. The church, which was built in a central position on the south side of Piazza d’Arme, later Piazza Grande, was completed in 1602 under the direction of Antonio Cantagaliina and Alessandro Pieroni. Piazza d’Arme was completed and enlarged with the old Porticciolo dei Genovesi (Port of Genovesi) filled up with earth to make room to the building called Tre Palazzi (Three palaces); the square was adorned with a series of marble arcades attributed to Alessandro Pieroni. The Palazzo del Picchetto was built, on plan by