Camaiore

Inland
Train station
31,842 residents

Good for Old townHistoryFestivalsHikingCulture

Camaiore lies in a wide basin at the foot of the Apuan Alps, inland from Lido di Camaiore, its seaside frazione. The name comes from the Latin Campus Maior; the town grew in the Middle Ages along the Via Francigena, and in 1374 Lucca walled it with four gates and 13 towers, most of which were later pulled down.

In the old town the Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta dates from 1278: Romanesque, remodelled in Baroque style in the 18th century and given back its Romanesque exterior in the 20th. The Museo d'Arte Sacra holds paintings, furnishings and vestments, and Palazzo Tori Massoni houses the archaeological museum. The Badia di San Pietro, documented by 761, is what remains of a large Benedictine monastery, with a 12th-century Romanesque church.

For Corpus Domini in June the procession walks over carpets of coloured sawdust up to 40 m long, made overnight. Stages 26 and 27 of the Via Francigena pass through, and Monte Prana is among the Apuan peaks within the comune.

Camaiore suits old-town strollers, festival-goers and hill walkers.

Events in Camaiore2

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Saturday 31 October1

17:00

Halloween at the Museum: A Spooky Treasure Hunt

CamaioreCivico Museo ArcheologicoExhibitions

Running all through1

20 Oct

Natalya Polyova: Il mare dentro

Camaioreuntil 1 NovExhibitions

What to see

Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta

The main church of the old town, built from 1278 and a collegiate church since 1515, with a Romanesque exterior restored in the 20th century.

Badia di San Pietro

The surviving church of a large Benedictine monastery on the Via Francigena, documented by 761 and rebuilt in Romanesque form in the 12th century.

Museo d'Arte Sacra

Paintings, church furnishings and vestments from roughly the 14th to the 16th century.

Museo Civico Archeologico

In Palazzo Tori Massoni, covering prehistory to the Middle Ages, with hands-on displays.

Tappeti di segatura (Corpus Domini)

Carpets of coloured sawdust, locally called pula, laid overnight across the old town for the Corpus Domini procession, some over 40 m long.

Castello di Montemagno

A 10th-century castle in the Freddana valley, within the comune, with views over the area.

Getting there and around

By car: By car, use the A12 Viareggio-Camaiore exit, or the SP1 road from Lucca.
Train and bus: The comune's railway stop is Camaiore Lido-Capezzano on the Genoa–Pisa line, served by Trenitalia regional trains. Autolinee Toscane runs the local buses, including services to Lido di Camaiore and Lucca.

Camaiore climate by month

Month	Day	Night	Rain days (≥1 mm)	Rain
January	11°	5°	13	143 mm
February	13°	6°	11	144 mm
March	14°	7°	12	135 mm
April	17°	10°	12	124 mm
May	20°	14°	15	154 mm
June	25°	19°	8	73 mm
July	28°	21°	6	40 mm
August	28°	21°	7	74 mm
September	24°	18°	12	158 mm
October	20°	14°	13	232 mm
November	16°	10°	15	218 mm
December	13°	7°	14	179 mm

Averages 2016–2025 from reanalysis data (Open-Meteo); a single year can differ a lot.

Questions visitors ask

How far is Camaiore from the sea?

The old town lies inland at the foot of the Apuan Alps; the comune's coast is Lido di Camaiore, reached by car or by Autolinee Toscane bus.

When are the sawdust carpets made?

For Corpus Domini in June: artisans work through the night before the procession, and the carpets, some over 40 m long, cover the streets of the old town.

Is Camaiore on the Via Francigena?

Yes. Stage 26 runs from Massa to Camaiore and stage 27 from Camaiore to Lucca; the Badia di San Pietro was an important stop on the route.