Each month we highlight a place of interest around the globe that we consider as unique as Borgo di Vagli. The tips are selected as they either show respect for the environment, nature, and architectural beauty or are deeply indigenous to their individual origin. This month we highlight the Apuan Alps area.
This is a tip for travellers who enjoy swapping main roads and exploring back-roads.
What are we talking about? We want to highlight the beauties of the Apuan Alps behind Forte dei Marmi and Pietrasanta.
Not too far from Forte dei Marmi, one of Tuscany’s most alluring and popular resorts, you can find a haven where for centuries nature has overseen the hard work of men who have contributed to make the world a better place…
The mountains have been visited and circumnavigated by the most important artists for centuries, who created masterpieces out of the world’s most famous Carrera marble, which is literarily everywhere found just few centimetres under the ground.
Greeks, Romans, Michelangelo and Leonardo as well as Henry Moore and more recently Botero and Mitoraj have visited these parts in search of this precious raw material to create a masterpiece.
Forget the shiny, highly polished windows of the globalised shops in Forte, instead take the road towards a tiny place called Levigliani, where the quarrymen and their families still live. Once there, it won’t be difficult to find a guide who will take you to the “Antro della Corchia” to marvel in front of hundreds of metres of pure white marble.
But if you want to be more prepared or want to get more in depth, contact one of these guides they will lead you to discover some of the emotional sites below ground…
Once in Levigliano you shouldn’t miss a visit to “Miniere dell’argento Vivo” which will make you realise just how hard the life of miners is.
But this is not the only approach to the heritage marble world: the second site you cannot miss is Fantiscritti, some 15 km. north east of Forte. It’s enough for you to watch the following images to get into the spirit of quarry life.
And last but not least, just a couple of kilometres beyond Fantiscritti, is Colonnata…YES… that Colonnata… You might be surprised to discover that all the “lardo di Colonnata” you find in all the best restaurants around the world, comes from this tiny place; but, if you taste it there… you’ll probably suspect that the Lardo di Colonnata you had in the past, was not at all genuine, it simply melts in your mouth!
If you’re staying at Vagli, it will take you slightly more than two hours to get to Pietrasanta: and you should set aside 2/3 days to thoroughly enjoy all the beauties of the area.
Pietrasanta itself is a small treasure. You can take in the atmosphere artists’ enjoyed walking the small road network of the village. Almost every corner, in fact, will surprise you with artworks that the most important contemporary artists have donated to the town, as a tangible gratitude for having provided, for centuries, the “raw material” for unforgettable pieces of art.
Art galleries are everywhere and each of them can show great pieces in their windows and in their intriguing interiors: a joy for lovers of art.
Even the fashion shops are different in Pietrasanta; you won’t find any of the usual brands, but, instead, an endless number of creators, whose works are often closer to art than that of just high street fashion. A real surprise!
In Pietrasanta you can stay at the Hotel Pietrasanta and you can really feel at ease for a great lunch or dinner at Filippo’s
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