NOT JUST SEASIDE!
CINQUE TERRE, UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE AND NATURAL PARK
The unique scenery in the Cinque Terre is definitely not to be found anywhere else in the world and will enchant you with its natural beauty and the perfect way humans have settled into such an unforgiving environment. This is a part of the Ligurian coast where generations of people have worked hard to create majestic terraces, vertically overlooking the sea: small plots of land wrested from the rocks, where excellent oil and refined wine are made.
You will walk along the paths and centuries-old staircases, the only ways to travel between the five villages up until recent times, among brooms, white and pinkish cysts and agaves dotting the landscape immersed in the strong spicy perfume of the helichrysum.
The route connecting Riomaggiore with Monterosso is the most renowned and spectacular and is known as “the blue path”. It takes around five hours to walk the entire path and it climbs more than 500 metres.
ALTA VERSILIA AND GARFAGNANA
The Alta Versilia borders with Seravezza and the villages of Stazzema, Levigliani and Pruno, close to Mount Forato, preparing us for the Apuane Alps scenery.
The Alpi Apuane Regional Park, established in 1985, extends between the Lucca and Massa districts: its spectacular landscapes, with the Mount Pisanino (1947m), Mount Cavallo (1888m) and Pania della Croce (1858 m) peaks, makes us feel as though we’re in a “stormy sea suddenly turned to stone”. The marble quarries are still very much in operation here.
VERSILIA, A PASSION FOR CYCLING
Cycling has always had a loyal following in Tuscany and Versilia’s natural landscape can offer a full and varied choice of routes to cycling enthusiasts, tourists wishing to explore the surroundings on a bike and mountainbikers (even to lovers of extreme biking challenges).
Every year the traditional Gran Premio Città di Camaiore also takes place: this is a cycling event that always has first-rate athletes competing, as it’s often an excellent testing ground for the Italian national cycling team Managers to make their selection choices. The course, to be covered several times, winds around the green hills of the area and always ends with a spectacular sprint on the Lido di Camaiore seafront
CAMAIORE, THE VALLEY AND THE LOMBRICESE NATURAL HISTORY PARK
The Camaiore valley offers an extraordinarily diverse environment, from the Apuane Alps to the Versilia beaches, through the Seimiglia hills, the Capezzano plane and up the Lido di Camaiore coast.
The Camaiore hills in the hinterland are a true paradise for hikers, an ideal destination both for nature lovers and those who appreciate art and history. The former can choose from a wide range of excursions on the Apuane Alps and visit the quaint little villages in the hills, the latter can discover old traditions, like in Gombitelli, a linguistic enclave and a village renowned these days for its hand-crafted nails and for its typical cold cuts, or they can walk along the Lombricese stream route with its interesting old handicraft factories.
CHIANTI: SCENERY AND FLAVOUR
Chianti isn’t only the name given to a good wine and a genuine olive oil; it is also the name of a vast area (600 sq.km.) located across the districts of Florence and Siena, one of the areas more renowned in the world for natural beauty and the perfect way in which the human settlement fits in the environment.
You can admire many colours in the Chianti area: gold is the colour of cornfields, green that of the forests and of the long lines of cypress trees, yellow is the colour of sunflowers covering the hills, red the colour of poppies, grapes and the earthenware Impruneta’s craftsmen have been making by hand since ancient times, no less visible is the olive trees’ silver…
The historical “heart” of the Chianti region includes the municipalities of Castellina, Radda, Gaiole and Greve, but also parts of the municipalities of Castelnuovo Berardenga, Tavarnelle, Barberino, San Casciano and Impruneta.
VERSILIA BY MOTORBIKE... TOURIST ROUTES IN VERSILIA AND TUSCANY!
Whether they choose to visit in summer, spring or autumn, motorbike enthusiasts will always find good reasons to enjoy the many routes that Versilia can offer.
Lido di Camaiore can easily be reached by motorway from anywhere in Italy and from here you can travel by motorbike through secondary roads that will take you to the quaintest parts of the varied Versilia area, through winding roads in Tuscany and Versilia.
The Villa Jolanda Hotel will suggest a basic itinerary so that you’ll be able to appreciate Versilia’s scenery driving your motobike along safe, enjoyable roads in a relaxing atmosphere and have the chance to make stops to taste Versilia’s local products.
ANTRO DEL CORCHIA: AT THE HEART OF THE APUANE ALPS
Coming up from Pietrasanta on the Arni B road towards Castelnuovo Garfagnana, you reach the village of Levigliani, the starting point for a visit to the Antro Del Corchia.
Levigliani, 600 m above sea level, is at the base of the imposing walls on the south side of Mount Corchia (1678 m). The tourists’ point of entrance to the Antro is located 2 km from the town. It can be reached in a few minutes via a marble road going up, after a few turns, to an altitude of 860 m. You take a shuttle bus for the short trip to the artificial entrance to the Antro del Corchia. The linking gallery almost feels like a natural underground prosecution of the quarry.
You then continue slightly uphill for almost 170 metres, with the altitude increasing by about 20 metres. The artificial duct’s depth cannot be perceived fully because of three doors in succession separating the same number of gallery segments, keeping it “air-tight”.
GIACOMO PUCCINI
One of the main opera composers in Italy between the 18th and 19th centuries, Giacomo Puccini set his own path, disregarding the two dominant trends at the time: first the verismo (extravagant realism), then later D’Annunzio’s influence.
Indeed Puccini wrote music almost exclusively for the theatre and, unlike the masters of the 1900s avant-garde, he always wrote with the public in mind, supervising the sets himself and following his operas around the world.
HOLIDAYS AND RELAXATION IN VERSILIA
Lido di Camaiore, in Versilia, is located on the coast between Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi.
Our hamlet is also metaphorically halfway between the “little town” of Viareggio, the capital of Versilia, a more hectic and crowded city-type environment, and the more refined, slightly snobbish atmosphere of Forte dei Marmi.
The seafront promenade covers the entire Lido coastline (approximately 4 kilometres), offering an ideal continuation to the other four kilometres of promenade in Viareggio, and is connected to it by a wide footbridge, open to bicycles too, built over the river (known as “dell’Abate”, but its correct name is “Camaiore”) separating the two towns.
CALA VIOLINA
