Livorno and its province are known around the world as having some of the most delicious traditions in sea cuisine. Bacalà alla livornese and Cacciucco alla Livornese are two examples of what really characterizes this incredible food. To realize how some of these dishes came to be we have to look at the history. When the city first came to be it was a tiny and very poor fishing village which realized the necessity of frugality but still placed much importance on flavour. They truly utilized everything in their surroundings and since the dishes were so delicious, they have lived through the test of time and their traditions have made their way down the coast to most of the cities in the Province of Livorno.
To give a small example, the famous Bacalà is an incredibly inexpensive tiny white fish (mullet in English) that is caught in bulk, salted and preserved so that it may be reconstituted at any time and cooked for hours in a tomato sauce with other locally grown vegetables to taste. The cacciucco soup has a very similar idea that utilizes the most inexpensive of the fish and molluscs caught in the ocean. These people used the fish that was last to sell after a long day of work and managed to create delightful traditions that have stayed with the area for centuries.