Versilia towns, area by area
All 11 places in Versilia: Cinquale, Forte dei Marmi, Marina di Pietrasanta, Lido di Camaiore, Viareggio and Torre del Lago on the coast, Pietrasanta, Camaiore and Massarosa inland, and Seravezza and Stazzema in the Apuan Alps.
The coast
The Versilia coast is one long sandy shore on the Ligurian Sea, with the Apuan Alps rising behind it. From north to south it runs from Cinquale, the beach of Montignoso, through Forte dei Marmi, Marina di Pietrasanta, Lido di Camaiore and Viareggio to Torre del Lago Puccini. North of Viareggio's harbour the beach is lined with bathing establishments; south of it the shore stays largely wild, inside the Migliarino, San Rossore, Massaciuccoli nature park, where the Lecciona reserve keeps its dunes and woods. All about Versilia coast →
Inland towns
A few kilometres back from the beaches, at the foot of the hills, lie the older towns. Pietrasanta and Camaiore were both laid out by Lucca in the 13th century, when it was securing its way to the port of Motrone; Massarosa, on the hills above Lake Massaciuccoli, split from Viareggio in 1869. All about Inland Versilia →
Alta Versilia
Alta Versilia is the mountain side of the region: the comuni of Seravezza and Stazzema, on the seaward slopes of the Apuan Alps, where marble is still quarried. Much of the range is protected by the Parco naturale regionale delle Alpi Apuane, set up by Tuscany in 1985 and part of the UNESCO Global Geoparks network since 2012; its headquarters are in Stazzema. All about Alta Versilia →