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Most Americans travelers to Italy have fond memories of the very popular Tuscan cities of Florence, Siena, Pisa, San Gimignano and, to a lesser extent, Lucca. You may not realize that there are still many fascinating parts of Italy’s top tourist region yet to be discovered and explored.
If you have never been to Tuscany’s “Versilia,” the land of rugged mountains, beautiful beaches, art towns and marble quarries, you are missing a great experience. In Versilia you will find anything from the highly-trafficked beach establishments to remote mountain villages where no English is spoken. There are towns of amazing art and history contrasted by the bounty of natural parks, hiking trails, cycling itineraries and caves alongside the remnants of the pilgrim trail that led from Canterbury to the Holy Land.
APT Versilia, the local Versilia tourist authority, recently produced a video in English that features wonderful highlights from this area. Wii-like figures guide you from place to place.
Video highlights include:
- Stazzema: A hidden mountain village where paths leading to the peaks of the Apuan Alps originate
- Seravezza: A small hillside village divided by a river and containing a Medici palace
- Viareggio: World-renowned as a mega-yacht building center for the rich and famous, this sea resort with beautiful beaches and a large central market is famous for its ‘Liberty” (Art-Deco) style of architecture and home to the largest European Carnival
- Pietrasanta: An art center where many famous artists work and live and where Michelangelo found his favorite marble 500 years ago
- Massaciuccoli Lake: perfect bird watching area
- Tyrrhenian Sea: Sanctuary for cetaceans where whales and dolphins swim
- The Corchia Caves: Hidden beneath the Apuan Alps is a famous national park with caves as deep as the Alps are tall.
- Massarosa: Walk where the medieval pilgrims walked on their route to the holy land
- Torre Del Lago Puccini: Here the great maestro wrote all his operas except for Turandot. His spirit continues on in the summer opera festival and theatre named after him.
- Forte Dei Marmi: A beach resort and shoppers paradise, from designer stores to the famous round market, where visitors and locals hunt for designer bargains
- Camaiore: An ancient Roman settlement that became a major historic town and is currently composed of two parts; the old town and the modern beach town of Lido di Camaiore.
- Versilia night life: from great restaurants to night clubs, theatre and opera to entertainment for the entire family
Enjoy your virtual tour!
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