From Viareggio to Forte dei Marmi, leaving a little time to stop at Colonnata and Camaiore.
Sun-kissed beaches and shady pinewoods await holiday makers heading for Viareggio, the Tuscan seaside town famous for its Carnival and ever-vibrant nightlife. Then there is the celebrated Liberty style seafront promenade, lined with elegant boutiques and cafés from where to admire the long beaches of fine sand.
After buzzing Viareggio, we take time for a relaxing break at Camaiore, town resting in a small valley between the coastal plain and the gentle hills of the Versilian hinterland. Just outside the town lies the Badia di San Pietro, the foundation of which dates back to 761. Together with the adjacent monastic complex, the abbey was, for centuries, an important site on the Via Francigena: the ancient road used by pilgrims making their way to Rome. All that survives of the primitive Benedictine complex is the imposing door of the Monastery, modified in the 14th century.
Before reaching Pietrasanta, we stop at the medieval village of Montèggiori. Thanks to its superb position, perched on a hill some 265 meters above sea level, the village enjoys breathtaking views over Camaiore, Pietrasanta, and the surrounding hillside.
Pietrasanta, the town of artists, lies just 10kms away, at the feet of the Apuan alps. Constructed sometime around the mid 1200's by Guiscardo Pietrasanta by order of the Republic of Lucca, the historic center still conserves numerous important works of architecture. Not to be missed: the Collegiate Church of San Martino, the Arrighina fortress built in 1324 by Castruccio Castracani, and the 16th century Palazzo Mornoi. Today, the streets of Pietrasanta are home to numerous art galleries. Pietrasanta is, in fact, inhabited by artists of every nationality who, together, contribute to the town's fame as effervescent creative hub.
A detour of just 3,5 kms takes us to Valdicastello Carducci, where to visit the house in which Giosuè Carducci was born. To reach the house, we take an attractive road through green hills strewn with olive trees and grapevines, and along which there is the Church of San Giovanni and Santa Felicita. Founded in the 9th century, and despite various alterations having been made to the building over the centuries, this tiny little church is one of the most evocative in the whole of Versilia.
After having breathed the peaceful atmosphere of the Tuscan hillside, we return once more to the coast and Versilia's most exclusive beach: Forte dei Marmi. For centuries an elite tourist destination, the resort owes its name to the fortress built here in 1788 by the Grand Duke Leopoldo so as to defend the harbour used for the embarkation of marble from the nearby Apuan Alps. Around this construction, the town center developed, now home to fashionable boutiques, expensive restaurants and ultra-chic night spots.
Within easy reach of Forte dei Marmi lies Colonnata, town once inhabited by workers employed by the local marble quarries and famous worldwide for its "lardo", an exquisite cold meat which owes its inimitable taste to its covering in salt, fresh garlic, rosemary, ground pepper and other spices and the long seasoning process (from 6 to 10 months) in special marble tubs. Those in the area on the second Sunday after the ferragosto (august 15th) holiday, should be sure to attend the town's traditional "Sagra del Lardo" festival.
