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Versilia Lovaly shores, vast pine woods, boulevards blooming with oleander and palm trees, tlankedby elegant shops... ship yards, a colourfull flotilla of sail and ishing boats... Beaches of fine golden sand, the blue expanse of the sea, the challenging arrayment of the Apuane AIps. Images that speak to man and bring back memories of a scenery of irresistible charms and subtile nostalgia. In the interiors medioeval villages, the blinding white of the marble quames, restfull valleys, shadowy woods of chesnuts, beaches and fir trses, bing brooks... Sheer mountain si rin thrilling climbs and incomparable panoramas. A holiday to make some sport: that is, a matchless way to see how Versilia gives the best of itself; the most modem equipment, tennis courts, bicycling, golf links. .Horse back riding, sailing, windsuf, in a contrast of colours and setting. Sports at will, with friendly and cordial people. Valdicastello Carducci Before reaching Valdicastello Carducci, we fnd the renowned mman church of the Saints Giovanni and Felicita, at "la Pieve". This church is named in a document dating from the year 855, but surely more ancient in origin. The befhower dates from ihe XVl century. Leaving Pietrasanta and going south along via Garibaldi, turning left towards the hills, at the town cemetery, starts via Comunale di Valdicastello. Three kilometers ahead, at the urban center we find the Casa Natale di Giosué Carducci (the very house where the great poet,winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, was born). Casa Carducci is a national monument and all year round it is visited by many tourists, specially students. It is the well preserved house where, in 1835, was born. Its collection consists of precious objects and various documents relatedto his life. Outside, in the garden, there is a marble bust of the poet. Viareggio The onIy outlying ward of Viareggio is Torre del Lago, a small centre on the edge of Lake Massaciuccoli, famous for Puccini's presence there from 1891 to 1921, when he moved to Viareggio. At Torre del Lago, the Maestro, already undermined by the illness which would cut his life short three years later, found the air of the peat bogs too unhealthy to stay. On the ruins of the ancient Guinigi Tower, the musicinn ordered the construction of a villa which at the time bordered on the lalze, while today it stands at a distance of a few tens of metres. The interior, left as it was, preserves many mementos of Puccini, such as the piano where his most famous operas were born, numerous musical arrangements and scores, his rifle collection, and the valuable collectian of Liberty furniture. In a chapel on the inside of the villa, the remains of Puccini are conserved. The archducal villa of the Bourbons The archducal villa of the Bourbons Nearby is the interesting archducal villa of the Bourbons with its beautiful surroundings and centuries-old pines. At Maria Luisa of Bourbon's wishes, the villa was designed by Lorenzo Nottolini, her trusted architect, as a hunting lodge. It was supposed to have been part of the sumptuous royal palace that the Spanish Infantn intended to build ín Viareggio, after rnising its ranh to that of city. The project never came about as her successor, Carlo Ludovico preferred to use the funds to construct aqueducts in Lucca, after 1824. The villa, síte of many events tied to the Puccini Festival, includes a beautiful chapel built in I849 by Gheri, with valuable paintings and beautiful marble ornaments. There, the monumental tombs of Carlo Ill Bourbon, the Duke of Parma, and Carlo Ludovico, last Duke of Lucca, are conserved. Camaiore The pieve of Saints Stefano and Giovanni at Pieve Situated in the outshirts of Camaiore, in Pieve, this Romanesque pieve is reached by way of terraces. The small rural church, one of the oldest in Uersilia, was founded in 810 by the Gombard Odolberto. Of the original structure, fragments in the façade and the wall of the left nave still remain. The façade presents a beautiful l5th centmy portal crowned by a fanlight window while the upper part is tmo-lighted. The interior, three naves with rounded arches, is Romanesque and has not been substantially altered over time. The raised presbytery and apse, with its three one-light windows, are of particular interest. There is the precious triptych by Battista da Pisa, created in 1443, depicting the Madonna in Trono col Bambino, Santi e Vescovi. A Roman sarcophagus of the 3rd century was re-adapted in the Medieval period to a baptismal font. Corsanico Near Massarosa, at Corsanico (the place name seems to be testimony to an ancient Saracen settlement), rises the beautiful church of San Michele, founded in the 12th century, and restructured tn the 19th. The church, with its baptismal font and same precious frescoes by Marracci, is faynous for its monumental organ built in 1602 by the Venetian Vincenzo Colonna, still functioning perfectly today. Massaciuccoli This outlying ward of the Commune of Massarosa deserves a visit not only for its splendid natural qualities but also for its important Roman ruins. On the slopes of Mount Aquilata, in a panoramic position, we find the vast Roman villa of the Imperial age, dating from the middle of the 2nd century A.D.. The complex operated as a pars rustica, a farm, carrying out economic enterprises, as well as a pars urbana, that which was reserved as a patrician residence. Some impressive wall structures of the villa, particularly the raised part, still remain, and some shreds of jloor mosaic: the most beautiful and most extensive, shows mythological marine motifs with hippogryphs (griffin-like creature with the body of a horse) and festoons. Not far away, above the viIla, are the monumental remains of the public baths, also dated to the 2nd century A.D., and which were vulgarly called "Nero's baths". These could be the baths called fossae papirianae in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a detailed Italian geographical map from the Medieval. The huge central area could be what is called the calidarium, from which arrived the hot water, if the reading of the suspensurae is correct: that is, a sort of support for a raised flooring under which the water pipes passed. An adjoining reception room opens onto the frigidarium, whiIe not far away are the remains of the nymphaeum. The cisterns of the baths were probably located near the parish of San Lorenzo. Azzano The pieve of the Chapel at Azzano This pieve is a few kilometers from Azznno, on the road to Mount Altissimo. The church, which can only be reached by foot, is peculiar in that it is entirely constructed of marble. It was erected before the year one thousand, and tampered mith in the 13th century. The bell-tower, a Iittle ahead of the façade, still has its pre-Romanesque appearance (10th -11 th centuries), an impressive quadrangular tower, barely lightened by the four two-lighted openings of the upper section. A portico was added to the façade in the 16th century, which was destroyed in the Second World War, of which there are still traces in the wall and signs of support beams. The precious rose window, dated to mid-16th century, is affectionately called "Michelangelo's eye". It would seem that the great artist, during his stay at Azznno (1518-1521), designed the window as well as the portico. The interior, a tripartite rectangle without transept, preserues three notable marble altars dating to the 12th century. The Apuan Alps From the blue of the sea and the golden beaches of Marina di Pietrasanta, the green hills and the risky peaks of the Apuan Alps, which are almost at an altitude of 2000 meters, can be reached in only a few minutes'drive. A generous and varied landscape opens to our eyes: paths through chestnut woods, valleys, prairies and mountains, picturesque "borghi" (small towns), ancient mills and imposing marble quarries. An island of green and history in . a natural, human environment still untouched. So many are the opportunities the hinterland offers to all who are fond ' of long walks to the mountains,drivings and excursions by public as well as private means. Stazzema The pieve of Santa Maria Assunta at Stazzema At Stazzema we find this pieve, erected in the 9th century and enlarged, as usual, in the 12th century The church, despite its having been declared a natt_onaI monument, is still unlznown to many and in poor condition. However, it emanates an extrnordinary jascination due to its original beauty and splendid position. A beautiful 16th century marble rose window stands out in its façade. The three-naved interior presents a partition of small Roman-Gothic pillars. Some elegant 17th century altars can be found there, while in the presbytery we find the Madonna Assunta, attributed by some to Rosselli. But the outstanding piece is the magnificent 17th century organ, which according to the stories, was brought as far as Ponte Stazzemese by oxcart, and from there, on human shoulders. In 1270, the church was the site of an importnnt historical event: representatives from Pisa, Versilia, and Garfngnana swore the constitution of the League against Lucca. Stazzema has a wealth of small artistic treasures, spread through its small centres. The toum is the beginning of beautiful excursions into the Apuan Alps and the quarries of Altissimo. Retignano, Terrinca, and Levigliani stretch across the terraces at the foot of Mount Corchia: here the houses still have the characteristic rooves of grey stone. The pre-Roman necropolis of Levigliani is worth visiting. Ruosina, a charming town at the bottom of the valley boasts an unusual monument, an enormous trout, fished in I G03 by Maria Cristina of Lorraine. From Pomezzana, and the church af San Rocca, which preserves some distinguished gold pieces from Lucca, one can take various excursions to the Procinto and the refuge at Forte dei Marmi. Volegno has an atmospheric 16th century oratorio, while Pruno, splendid medieval village set in the mountains, dominated by the church of San Niccolò, hosts a craft museum. The museum of the Resistance and the Ossuary at SantAnna are worth visiting. Isolasanta, a small medieval viIlage on the edge of a lahe at the foot of Mount Sumbra, is famous jor its gigantic potholes, huge cavities carved into the rock by water over the course of millennia.

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