A romantic evocation of a Mediterranean port scene, alluding to Leghorn (Livorno), Italy, principal port of the Dukedom of Tuscany at the time it was painted. Two large ships are moored at the quayside, that to the left being a Tuscan man-of-war. Her ornately carved stern bears a roundel of Neptune and four prancing hippocampi (sea-horses) which traditionally draw his chariot as god of the sea. One of the small craft on the left is piled with barrels and stores, with a black man in red sitting in silhouette on its lowered yard and another figure behind. The other boat bears a figure leaning against the mast and in the distance an arriving ship fires a salute to a fortress at the entrance to the harbour. Merchandise has been unloaded on the quay and a party including a handsome lady on a white horse, with two pack-mules a camel and servants, is about to leave. In front of the main ships the artist has positioned the statue of the Grand Duke Ferdinand I of Tuscany by Baccio Bandinelli, with its four bronze, chained, Turkish-slave supporters. This is still a notable feature of the Livorno waterfront today. On the right several Europeans are negotiating aggressively with an unimpressed Levantine merchant below a tall, picturesquely ruinous classical stone gateway to the fortifications. A hunting dog, sniffing at another in the centre, and a privy high on the curtain wall, upper right, add a touch of earthy realism.