If you’re looking to try cecina (chickpea flatbread), a delicious Tuscan street food, this town’s name might be misleading, though you’ll find your mix of breads here, too. (More on cecina bread elsewhere.) Cecina, a little gem found on the Etruscan Coast, is a famous seaside destination with a fascinating history. And its name is not to be confused with the bread: the chickpea flatbread is pronounced cecìna, while the town is pronounced Cècina.
Located about 30 km southeast of Livorno, Cecina was founded by a Roman consul named Albinus Caecina, a descendant of an ancient Etruscan family. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the territory underwent a long period of difficulty. It wasn’t until Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany that the town began to flourish with the advent of local agriculture. Cecina was destroyed during World War II, but after reconstruction it gained popularity thanks to its clear, deep-blue water and wide golden beaches, not to mention its hospitality.
