Massa

A landscape that in only a few kilometers rises from the sea and becomes mountainous with peaks that almost reach 2,000 meters: from the beaches of the Versilia, to the hills of the Lunigiana, to the Apuan Alps, in the midst of a natural setting, you will find seaside towns, art cities, Romanic rural churches, ancient castles, marble quarries, and natural parks that carefully protect rare flora and wildlife, with the sea always in the background and in the horizon.

The land around Massa is unique, the itineraries wind around the small towns starting from Massa whose Renaissance castle Cybo Malaspina dominates the city to this day, and from Carrara, the city of marble where you can admire the other castle of the Cybo Malaspina, the Romanic Duomo, all done in Apuan marble, Via Santa Maria, a typical city street where at number 14 lived Petrarch, and the Marble Museum, and finish at Pontremoli, an attractive medieval village, and the “Porta dell’Appennino” (the door of the Apennines) on the Via Francigena. You then go on to the quarries of the famous and very sought after marble, the one favored by Michelangelo.

For security reasons you cannot enter the quarries, except during some special events and demonstrations, but from different vantage points on the road you can enjoy the fascinating landscape dotted with quarry workers. You must make a stop at Colonnata and taste the famous Lardo, the ancient food of the quarrymen, a delicacy obtained by preserving thick slices of lard in marble pits on a bed of salt and spiced with garlic, sage, and rosemary.

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