Pietrasanta

Pietrasanta is located at the foot of the Apuan Alps. All life of the town is connected with marble; even its name means “sacred stone”.

There are stone pits close to Pietrasanta, where sculpture marble is extracted. The decision to exploit local open pits for building of San-Lorenco Church in Florence fostered the development of the town.

Marble winning and metal production had been the main activity of local residents for a long time, though only after the middle of the XVI century marble mining in Pietrasanta area became industrial. Until that time sculptors and architects had used mainly Carrara marble, which is easier for winning.

Old traditions of foundry industry and working with marble have been developing in Pietrasanta up to present daytime. As young so mature sculptors visit the town regularly. One of the rooms in Sant Agostino Abbey houses the Bocchetti museum, where about 200 sculptures are exhibited. They were created by masters who come to Pietrasanta from all over the world. An outstanding movie star and just a beautiful woman, Gina Lollobrigida, visits the town frequently. She set up her own art workshop here, and devotes a lot of time to creating sculptures.

You can get acquainted with works of sculptors not only at the museum and exhibitions, but also at workshop stores located in the historic center of the town.

The central square Piazza del Duomo impresses visitors with the beauty of the San Martino Cathedral (the XIII century) and the bell tower. You can't help admiring not only the view of the marble church, but also the ancient sculptures of the XVI century, which decorate it inside.

A magnificent park appeared just a couple of kilometers away from Pietrasanta at the beginning of the XVIII century on the initiative of local farmers. A luxurious villa was built here in the year of 1880. The writer Renato Fuccini and the poet Gabriel D'Annuncio used to live here. It was Renato Fucini who gave the present name “Versiliana” to the park.

Now the villa houses a theater and provides a stage for the well-known festival “Versiliana” .