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| TORRE DEL LAGO PUCCINI |
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| This small city surrounded by the Massaciuccoli lake and the Tyrrhenian Sea, laying between the Apuane Alps and the Migliarino – San Rossore – Massaciuccoli Natural Park, famous for the Mansions of Master Giacomo Puccini, still gathering relics and documents of his intense life, takes its name from a 15th-16th Century tower. |
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| The environment is really interesting, being rich in flora and fauna. The beach is renowned for its sand dunes, covered with Mediterranean vegetation, just in front of the local vast bush. The marvellous variety and richness of flora and fauna, the sunny beach, the fresh pinewoods and the always calm lake make Torre del Lago (Lake Tower) an ideal venue for holiday seasons and time to relax. |
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| CAMAIORE and LIDO DI CAMAIORE |
| Lido di Camaiore is the pleasant modern seashore of Camaiore. With its 4-km vast beach, made of fine and golden sand, it is a bathing station in the van, one of the most qualified tourist resorts in Versilia. It lets the way to the sea through a nice promenade, rich in flowerbeds and palms, scattered with shops and various entertainment venues. Lido di Camaiore is remarkable for its many villas with natural surrounding too, and for its large roads and wide squares and public parks. It is downtown protected by Versilia’s outback, laid within a big basin in front of Apuane Alps. These ends have ancient origins and are even today spotted with lots of monuments, among which the nice Teatro dell’Olivo, the impressive St. Peter’s abbey, the Holy Art Museum. Nice walks may be taken in the central «middle road» among shops and boutiques. |
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| MARINA DI PIETRASANTA |
| World famous bathing resort, with an enormous soft beach, surrounded by green gardens, pinewoods and the Mediterranean bush, bounded on by the tops of Apuane Alps, Marina di Pietrasanta offers an impressive sweet environment, ideal for a leisure fortnight. It has over 100 bathing establishments, scattered along the beach, perfectly furbished, accessible through a series of gardens. The urban settlements are spotted by parks and gardens and refuse any city topic to highlight their resort-look. Nonetheless the town is also endowed with famous night venues for dancing. The Versiliana meadows extend for more than one million square metres up to Forte dei Marmi municipal area. In the vast and rich pine-wood, around the famous Mansions of the great poet Gabriele D’Annunzio, every summer «La Versiliana» Festival takes place, involving also the well known Afternoon Café. |
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| FORTE DEI MARMI |
| Appreciated and worldwide known tourist resort, Forte dei Marmi lays around a wharf built during the 16th Century to load the marble blocks coming from Apuane Alps. Nobles, diplomats, businessmen, artists and famous personalities have thereby built wonderful villas, hidden and protected by the pinewood, and choose the gorgeously fine sand of its seashore for their leisure weeks. |
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| SERAVEZZA e STAZZEMA |
| Together with Forte dei Marmi these two towns are the basis of the historic Versilia. Seravezza, besides the beauties of the country and of the exhibitions hosted in Mediceo Palace, is perfect for nature fans. From here start also many mountain bike paths, following Michelangelo’s footprints up to the Monte Altissimo querries. It is an area remarkably beautiful for its countryside, as much as Stazzema, located from 63 to 1,600 metres above sea level. It includes 18 towns such as Cardoso, Sant’Anna, Pruno, Arni. The mountain freshness and quiet at a walking distance to the sea. |
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| MASSAROSA |
| Massarosa is a delicious municipality in Versilia’s outback as well. Its hills, full of olive-groves, border on Lucca and Camaiore. It has also a wet zone dominated by Massaciuccoli Lake. This great lake, the biggest in Tuscany, is located within the San Rossore – Migliarino – Massaciuccoli Natural Park, over an area of about 23,000 hectares. A very rich ornithological patrimony brings us more than 200 species of non-migratory, migratory and nesting birds, such as ashen herons, flamingos, marsh hawks and Cavalieri d’Italia. This environment is completed by a wide flora gathering many rare species like «Florida» fern, marsh hibiscus and white water lily. Massarosa is surrounded by marvellous towns, like Pieve ad Elici, Gualdo, Montigiano, Bargecchia etc. Massaciuccoli with the Roman Mansions are worth a visit. |
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| PIETRASANTA |
| Pietrasanta, ancient town founded in the Middle age, is to be considered the historical Versilia capital and the main international centre in the marble artistic working. It is one of the most important locations in the whole world for marble and bronze working, and it often hosts sculptors from all over the Earth to let them specialize and learn how to build big-dimensioned works. |
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| Its artistic heritage, undoubtedly linked to its story, includes valuable sculptures by many masters, among whom even the great Michelangelo, who is reported by some documents to have lived here – while choosing the marbles in the near quarries – and to have here negotiated the purchase of the marbles for the façade of St. Lawrence church in Florence. Another renowned Pietrasanta native is the poet Giosuè Carducci, born in the near Valdicastello (a town today carrying his name). The town is nowadays an important art centre, with very many art galleries, temporary exhibitions, marble craftsman shops, distinguished bronze foundries and laboratories where worldwide appreciated art mosaics come everyday to the light. |
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| LUCCA |
| Lucca is the capital of the province of the same name in northwestern Tuscany. With approximately 85,000 inhabitants, Lucca is situated in a broad alluvial plain, 19 meters above sea level, near the Serchio River, between the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, the Tyrrhenian Coast and the Pisan hills. |
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It is an important city for art and traditional culture, presenting a vital historic center of extraordinary value, which has conserved almost intact the thick urban network of houses, towers, medieval churches, Renaissance palaces and 19th-century piazzas. Lucca today is a flowering commercial and industrial center and an important area for the paper, chemical, metal mechanic, textile and agricultural (olive and wine) industries.
Since the Roman period the town has been surrounded by walls. In that period the walls had a quadrangular plan with four gates.
In the XII and XIII century new town walls were erected to include the new quarters of S. Maria Forisportam, S. Pietro Somaldi and S. Frediano.
These walls were 11 or 12 metres tall and were defended by towers. The gates of San Gervasio and Santa Maria dei Borghi belong to this period.
In the XVI century new works on the walls were started and at the end of the century the walls had the present shape with bastions.
In the first half of the XIX century the architect Lorenzo Nottolini began to tranform the walls into the park you see today.
THINGS TO SEE
The Renaissance Walls, the most significant monument of the city, is an intact circle of about 4 km in length, with a series of ramparts. These walls have allowed the historic center to maintain its homogeneous and balanced appearance. The impressive complex was begun in 1544 to take the place of the medieval walls, which were already insufficient for defending the city in light of the expansionist intentions of Florence.
Botanical Gardens.
Planned by Elisa Baciocchi, the Botanical Gardens were created in 1920 by Maria Luisa di Borbone and destined for the use of the administration of the University of Lucca. The garden, about two hectares in size, is extremely important. It contains more than 700 species of local and exotic plants, which were in vogue during the 1800’s.
Duomo of San Martino.
Opening onto the piazza of the same name, the Duomo is surrounded by beautiful buildings from various periods. Founded in the 6th century, it became an episcopality in the 8th century. It has undergone many periods of re-construction. The façade, designed by the Lombard master Guidetto da Como in 1204, is one of the most significant examples of Pisan/Lucchesan Romanesque.
Baptistery of Saints Giovanni and Reparata.
The Baptistery, created in the 5th century as the first seat of the Bishop, faces the Piazza del Duomo. It stands on an interesting, still-visible archaeological area. The super-imposed structures date from the 2nd century back to the Paleo-Christian era.
Church of San Michele in Foro.
Imposing and slender, this church stands in the piazza of the same name, which corresponds to the ancient Roman Forum and is the site of many medieval and Renaissance buildings. This beautiful church in white limestone, rebuilt over the ancient church of the 8th century, is a typical example of Pisan/Lucchesan architecture. Its originality lies in the juxtaposition of Romanesque and Gothic solutions.
Basilica of S. Frediano.
Walking down via Fillungo, passing the piazza of the Amphitheatre, one arrives at Piazza San Frediano. The splendid basilica, documented since the 12th century, rises over a high medieval church that has been often modified over time. The sober façade in pure Romanesque style is surmounted by a large gold-leaf mosaic of the Ascension, a splendid work in Byzantine style from the School of Berlinghieri (13th century).
Piazza of the Amphitheatre.
This ancient site constitutes one of the most characteristic and original monuments of the city. The ancient amphitheatre dates from the 2nd century A.D. It was built on an elliptical plan with two rows of 54 arcades and a maximum capacity of 10,000 spectators.
Via Fillungo. (Fillungo's street)
The ancient cardo maximus of the Roman city is today a lively street with elegant traditional shops, medieval towers (of which the oldest and most interesting is the Tower of Hours, which can be visited), and noblemen’s palaces.
Guinigi Tower.
The palace and the tree-topped tower, belonging to the prestigious merchant family of the Guinigi, are located in one of the most characteristic medieval neighborhoods of the city. The tower, one of the few remaining that ornated the medieval city, is 44 meters high and culminates in a small terrace crowned by larch trees. From this vantage point, one can enjoy a stupendous, vast panorama. |
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| PISA |
| Pisa is situated on the banks of the river Arno, on latitude 43o 43’ North and longitude 10o 23’ East in North-West Tuscany.
Just 80 km from Florence and 10 km from the sea, Pisa is a popular touristic centre. This town is closely associated with the well-known Leaning Tower. |
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| The climate, mild and temperate, because of the vicinity to the sea and the protection offered by the mountains behind Pisa, has given it a primary place in national and international tourism. As the fulcrum of an area astride the provinces of Lucca and Livorno, its territory particularly suitable for farm-holidays, trekking, cycling, horse-riding, bird watching, golf, open-air and water sports, that can be practised on a fantastic coast with sand-beaches, perfectly equipped with bathing establishments, hotels and restaurants. In the Regional Nature Park of Migliarino - San Rossore - Massaciuccoli extending for 23,000 hectares along the coast from Viareggio to Livorno, with tree groves and Mediterranean shrubs, encounters with deer, boars and the over two-hundred verities of migratory birds are frequent. Pisa preserves, with the complex of Piazza dei Miracoli – cultural patrimony of all humanity – numerous masterpieces of civil and military architecture and of medieval history.
To this treasures can be added the Certosa of Pisa, at Calci (10 km from Pisa) and the Basilica of San Piero a Grado (5 Km from Pisa), obligatory stop for lovers of Romanesque art.
Pisa’s cultural and academic traditions boasts, besides the most ancient botanical garden in all of Europe, a prestigious athenaeum flanked by the Scuola Superiore di Studi Universitari Sant’Anna and the Scuola Normale Superiore, unique in Italy and instituted by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1813.
A city of art and history, Pisa commemorates its traditions during the month of June with numerous folklore and religious events, among which we draw attention to the Luminara, in occasion of the feast of the patron Saint (16 June), a suggestive decoration of the banks of the Arno River with wax candles, and the Palio di San Ranieri, a regatta with special boats through the historic parts of town.
On the last Sunday in June, at the end of procession composed of over seven hundred actors in historic costumes, the two opposite banks of the Arno, organised in two opposing factions of six teams each, face each other, pushing a heavy cart, and thus inaugurate the Game of the Bridge, a re-evocation of an ancient tournament game. |
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