Walks in Versilia
Two walks that will lead you to discover two aspects of Versilia's identity.
A trip on the lake
A few kilometers from Lucca, before arriving in Versilia, we encounter what was for the Grand Maestro Giacomo Puccini a place of inspiration in the creation of his most important operas: Lake Massaciuccoli.
With Navilago, you can experience a motorboat tour on the lake so beloved by the Maestro and immerse yourself in nature amidst the thousand colors reflecting on its waters in a unique and protected habitat, a place of migration for various bird species.
The embarkation point at Belvedere in Torre del Lago Puccini is also easily accessible by scheduled bus. During the cruise, you can book a shuttle service. aperitif based on wines and local products in the evocative atmosphere of the sunset among the reeds.
An Art Nouveau walk
Versilia isn't just beaches: Viareggio's seafront offers a fascinating journey through architecture, history, and culture. The famous "promenade," overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and pervaded by the salty scent of the sea, is an elegant showcase where seaside life intertwines with early 20th-century art and design.
Inaugurated in 1902, the Viareggio Promenade was born as viale Regina MargheritaA long seafront bustling with beach resorts, cafes, and shops in wooden pavilions, designed to accommodate the growing tourist elite. But it was the dramatic fire of October 17, 1917, which destroyed much of the wooden buildings, that definitively transformed its appearance.
The reconstruction was entrusted to prominent architects and decorators, such as Alfredo Belluomini and Galileo Chini, protagonists of Italian Liberty style. In just a few years, the waterfront was populated with buildings with flowing lines, decorated with ceramics, colored glass, wrought iron, and floral motifs, making Viareggio a true open-air art gallery.
The route can start from the pier, where the former Supercinema Savoia (1927), decorated with Chini ceramics. Continuing on you come across the Eden Cinema Theater (1930), with its elegant iron and glass roof, and the Magazzini Duilio 48, recognisable by the oval signs and wrought iron railings.
Next to the historical Chalet Martini (1899), escaped from the fire and loved by Giacomo Puccini, stands the most famous Liberty jewel: the Grand Coffee Margherita (1929), with its twin turrets and domes covered in coloured tiles, today transformed into a café, restaurant and bookshop. A little further on is the Whale Bath (1928), designed by Belluomini and decorated by Chini, with a scenic entrance and colourful ceramics.
On the opposite side of the avenue, there is a succession of private villas and hotels: the Chizzolini villa (1910), decorated with ceramic caravels; the Nistri villa (1913), known as “the mosque”, with its Arabesque turret; Villa Tina, now a hotel, with its Art Nouveau windows; the Grand Hotel Royal (1925), dominated by its twin towers.
Further inside, the Flora villa (1912) houses some of Galileo Chini's most poetic ceramics: female figures, cherubs and flowers, between dream and nature. The itinerary ideally concludes with the Grand Hotel Principe di Piemonte (1925), symbol of the luxury and style of the time.
Not far from the seafront, Villa Argentina It offers a final glimpse of Viareggio's Art Nouveau style, with its majolica tiles with floral and checkerboard motifs. Today, a venue for exhibitions and events, it is one of the best-preserved examples of this extraordinary period of Italian art and architecture.