Livorno was a Medicean town and enjoyed numerous privileges aimed at increasing its population: edicts cancelling taxes, debts and criminal records, and proclamations allowing freedom of worship, custom and thought.
Among the many communities, the Dutch settled in the city in the very first years of the 17th century. Much later, in 1914, groups of German origins joined them. As they both traded in grain, together they formed the community known as the Dutch-Alemanni.
This community built a number of windmills on the hills behind the town, in the Valle Benedetta and Valle del Chioma areas. Windmills were used as an alternative to water mills when water was scarce.
NOTE:
This route does not present any particular technical difficulties and is set in an area of great scenic interest. The only critical aspect of the itinerary, in terms of orientation, is the section that follows the ridge from Calvario to the stream, but if you follow the description, you should have no problems.
