Carrara, the city of marble, is geographically separated from the inland of the Province. Located along the coast from Tuscany to Liguria, it stands out for being home to this precious stone. The heart of the city centre is the four-sided Piazza Alberica, with the monument to Maria Beatrice d'Este in the middle, made by Pietro Fontana in 1824. It has many palaces of historical relevance, such as Palazzo del Medico, Palazzo Orsolini, Palazzo delle Logge, Palazzo Conti Luciani, Palazzo Fabbricotti, Palazzo delle Cariatidi, the façade completely covered in marble and decorated with XVIII-century statues.
The Cathedral dedicated to Saint Andrew, a precious building in the Romanesque-Gothic style, built between the XI and the XIV century, is certainly worth a visit. In front of it is the unfinished Fontana del Gigante and the house in which Michelangelo used to stay when he came to choose the marble for his works. Not far from there, the Teatro degli Animosi built in 1840. Housed since 1815 in the Prince’s Castle, the famous Academy of Fine Arts founded in 1769, exhibiting works of contemporary art, plaster casts and many Roman memorial stones. Out of the centre, along Viale XX Settembre, don’t miss the Museo Civico del Marmo, the Marble Museum, to see remains from the quarries, and marble-processing tools and machinery.
Drive on and you will get at the beach. Marina di Carrara with its modern port owes its reputation to the maritime trade of marble for which the ‘ferrovia marmifera’ was built between 1871 and 1891 with 15 tunnels on a 4-km length, dismantled in the 1960s.

Going up to the Apuan Alps, the most outstanding places include the three fields of the marble quarries, Torano, Fantiscritti and Colonnata. Along the ancient track of the “ferrovia marmifera”, stop and visit the little quarrymen’s villages, all built in Roman times.
In addition, in Fantiscritti you can visit the quarry-cum-museum where you can see several kinds of marble-processing tools from the Roman age to date.
Colonnata instead is famous for its lard, a local delicacy which is left to age in heavy marble vessels.

The city of Massa, dominated by the Malaspina Castle, stands next to the hilly-mountainous area. The heart of the city is Piazza Aranci, framed by a double row of orange trees.
Visit the Duke’s Palace, which belonged to the Malaspina family. Built between the XVI and the XVII century, it now houses the Provincial Government and the Prefecture. Just after that, Piazza Mercurio with its typical XV-century layout, the heart of the market that has been held here since 1547.
Around the square, many palaces built between the XVI and the XVII century and the small Baroque Church of San Giovanni Decollato.
The Cathedral was built in the late XIV century, it is dedicated to Saints Peter and Francis and has been altered several times, the last time in 1936, when the façade with the two rows of loggias in white Carrara marble was built. Inside you can see a Madonna by Pinturicchio, a tryptich attributed to Filippo Lippi and six seventeenth-century bronze candelabra, probably by Pietro Tacca. Just 5 km from there, along the coast, Marina di Massa, with its hotels, widely known as a seaside resort.
About 300 metres above sea level is San Carlo Terme, with its low-mineral waters with important therapeutic effects. Amidst the hilly landscape, the botanical gardens dedicated to the Massa-born doctor and botanist Pietro Pellegrini, which since 1966 has collected plenty of varieties of endemic plants from the Apuan Alps.

The gateway to the Province, along the coastal road, Montignoso, despite its small size, encompasses the three-fold geographical variety that is its distinctive trait: the beach, the countryside and the mountain. Very interesting is the medieval Aghinolfi Castle and Villa Schiff-Giorgini, surrounded by a garden with centuries-old trees, now the premises of the Municipal Government.
The Lake of Porta is certainly the ideal place for nature-lovers. An oasis protected by WWF and Lega Ambiente, it is now engaged in wildlife restocking..

Aulla, a land run through by the river Magra, an important road junction since prehistoric times between the north and the south. Even if heavily bombed during the Second World War, in some places it still retains some vestiges of the past, from the remains of the Abbey of San Pancrasio dating from 884 to the Brunella Fortress built between the XV and the XVI century. In the surroundings, the charming ‘vaulted’ village, known as “Il Vecchietto”, and the Grottoes of Donenaghe, with their gigantic boulders poised on the rocky spur of Montegrosso.

The village of Bagnone stands in the midst of luxuriantly green woods, with its small stone houses opening onto narrow alleys. As you take a stroll, you will find some enchanting little squares and the lovely porticoes of the ‘vaulted village’ built in the fifteenth century near the river Bagnone, from which it takes its name. It is dominated by the cylindrical tower of the castle, commissioned by the Malaspina family between the XIV and the XV century. Just 5 km from there, the village of Treschietto, with the remains of the castle high up above a ravine. Nearby, the XV-century manor house of Castiglione del Terziere, which has been brought to new life after years of neglect.

At the border between Lunigiana and Garfagnana stands the village of Casola. In this area, the first human settlements date back to the Iron and Bronze Age; the area has been conquered by many populations, because of its excellent strategic location.
Around the village, you can still see the remains of the three circles of walls built by the people of Lucca in the XIV century. The local Museum houses two statues-steles, archaeological findings from local excavations, and a section about Sacred Art and the Maggio songs. All around, a landscape of woods and chestnut groves is dotted with plenty of medieval parish churches.

The village of Filattiera, the capital of the Byzantine Lunigiana, with its narrow lanes, the watchtower, the castrensian church of San Giorgio still retains all its medieval charm. Do not miss the Hospital of San Giacomo, a place where pilgrims used to find shelter in the past. The most important monument in the area is the parish church of Santo Stefano in Sorano along the Via Francigena. A magnificent example of Romanesque architecture, where Lombard and Tuscan features blend into each other, it bears on its façade the signs of earlier churches and an early-Christian cult. The parish church has been recently restored. Not far from the village of Filattiera, many tower-houses compose the village of Ponticello, which dates back to Byzantine times.

Along the thoroughfare connecting Aulla with the Cerreto Pass, you can find Fivizzano, a village that because of its size is called “of the hundred hamlets”. It covers four valleys: Rosaro, Aulella, Bardine, Lucido. The village still bears the signs of its loyalty to the Florentine Republic in its Medicean walls, with the two watchtowers that Cosimo I wanted to be built in 1540. Elegant Renaissance buildings, the square and the Medicean fountain built by Cosimo III make Fivizzano a “fine corner of Florence”.
On the central square, the Church of Santi Jacopo e Antonio and the Museum of Sacred Art. Not far from there, the beautiful Palazzo Fantoni-Bononi built between 1664 and 1677, with its frescoed rooms, and the Printing Museum dedicated to Jacopo da Fivizzano. Out of the centre, the Castle of Verrucola built in 1300 above the village of Bosi. Not far from there, the magnificent Romanesque parish church of San Vendaso and the 7-hectare Botanical Gardens of Frignoli, illustrating the mountainous habitats of Lunigiana. At the bottom of Pizzo dell'Uccello is Equi Terme, with its sulphurous waters and the archaeological findings of the ancient Roman baths.
The restored mill of Arlia can be visited by appointment.

Along the banks of the river Taverone is the village of Licciana Nardi.
Built as a military barrage, it stands out for the imposing Malaspina castle, fortified between the XV and the XVI century. On the city square, you can see the ossuary monument to Anacarsi Nardi, one of the leading figures of the revolts of the Risorgimento, and the eighteenth-century church of San Giacomo e San Cristoforo.
Just out of the village, the castle of Bastia, with its cylindrical towers. The castle, built by the Malaspina family in the XIII century, was conquered by Giovanni delle Bande Nere in 1524.
Before arriving in Licciana on the Cisa highway, across the bridge on the river Taverone, you will find Terrarossa, the oldest village, the Byzantine “Rubra”, dating from before 1000. The unfinished castle dates back to 1500. The distinctive trait of Licciana is the nature that surrounds it, dotted with many tracks running across the Via Francigena.

On the right bank of the river Magra, the village of Mulazzo, known for its publishing tradition, strikes out into Liguria. Its Roman origin and Byzantine and Lombard remains are the distinctive features of this village, which became the capital of one of the branches of the Malaspina family until the XIX century, which now houses the Centro Studi Malaspiniano. You can visit the remains of the castle and the so-called “Torre di Dante”, or Dante’s Tower, as it seems he stayed there in 1306. Elegant palaces open onto its lanes.
In the surroundings, the village of Montereggio, the sanctuary of Madonna del Monte, the castle of Castevoli, the village of Lusuolo and the village and castle of Groppoli are all worth a visit.

Podenzana, along a bank of the river Magra, stands out for the nature that surrounds it. The Malaspina Castle, high above, dominates the whole valley; built around 1000, it can now be visited by appointment.
Nearby, the sanctuary of Madonna della Neve and Montedivalli, a Ligurian island in the land of Lunigiana, near which the archaeological remains of a necropolis of the Ligurian-Apuan population dating back to 500 BC have been found.

The lovely village of Pontremoli, with its elegant Baroque palaces, is evidence of the trading success of this place.
In the eighteenth century, it was an important artistic city, which even gave birth to its own painting style. Do not miss a visit to the Church of San Francesco, with its elegant XVIII-century door, which guards an ancient marble bas-relief by Agostino di Duccio, the elegant Teatro della Rosa, in front of the medieval tower of Castelnuovo and the completely-frescoed Baroque Church of Nostra Donna.
Just out of the village is the XV-century complex of the convent and church of Santissima Annunziata, all made of stone, containing lots of works, the most outstanding being a Baroque shrine attributed to Sansovino and some paintings by Luca Cambiaso.
Above the ancient village is the Castle of Piagnaro, dating back to Lombard times, which was besieged, destroyed and rebuilt several times and completely refurbished between the XIV and the XV century. It houses the Museum of Statues-Steles. The ancient publishing tradition is renewed here year after year with the Bancarella literary awards. In the surroundings, you must certainly stop in Cervara, a typical village which was documented as early as 1029, with its “Facion”, ancient grotesque faces engraved in sandstone on the lintels of the houses, to keep the evil spirits away.

The village of Tresana, on the right bank of the river Magra, looks as if it were split into two, on one side a mountainous landscape with woods and chestnut groves, on the other side the hilly area with its crops and farms. The huge castle dates back to the XII century and still bears the traces of the 1600 uprising against Francesco Malaspina. Not far from the centre is the village of Barbarasco, where you can visit the Baroque church of San Quirico.
Not far from Villa di Tresana, surrounded by greenery, with its castle built on an earlier XIV-century fortification, parallelepipedal in shape, topped up by towers at the corners, while the Renaissance Church of Santa Maria Assunta stands in the midst of a chestnut wood.

Do not miss the ‘vaulted’ villages, built along important trade thoroughfares. Their streets are covered by vaults that still join the houses together and acted as safe shelters when storms broke out.

At the border between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, bordered by the Apennines, the village of Zeri covers four main valleys: Zeri, Adelano, Rossano, Codolo. Each valley accommodates several villages, which because of difficult road conditions have remained secluded for a long time, so their local features have remained unchanged.
The small villages that compose this centre are true gems that haven’t been changed by time.
Patigno, which is the municipal capital, stands out for its stone houses, the roofs made of “piagne” (slabs of local stone), and houses a wooden Virgin of Montenero dating from the XVIII century.
In the surroundings, there is a multitude of oratories and, on the hill of Gretta, a sanctuary of the Virgin of Lourdes built in 1958. Charming are the lakes of Aracci, Lagarine and Peloso, covered by a grassy blanket.
Over 1100 metres above sea level, the mountain village of Formentara, used for pasture as early as 1500 and by now completely deserted. A trek amidst mule tracks and trails to discover the many “Majesties” scattered amidst these mountains is a must.
In summer, the greenery of these places is embellished by new colours and scents: hawthorn, fruit trees, wild berries.

Al confine fra l'Emilia e la Toscana, delimitato dall'Appennino si trova il comune di Zeri suddiviso in quattro vallate principali: Zeri, Adelano, Rossano, Codolo. Ognuna di esse ospita numerosi centro abitati, che a causa della difficile viabilità sono rimasti a lungo isolati mantenendone intatte le caratteristiche ambientali. I piccoli borghi che compongono questo comune sono veri e propri gioielli che ci giungono praticamente invariati dal tempo. Patigno, sede del comune, caratterizzato dalle tipiche abitazioni in pietra, con i tetti fatti di “piagne” ( lastre di pietra locale), ospita una Madonna lignea di Montenero del XVIII secolo. Nei dintorni si trovano numerosi oratori e sul colle della Gretta un santuario della Madonna di Lourdes edificato nel 1958. Ricchi di fascino i laghi degli Aracci, Lagarine e il Peloso con il suo manto erboso a copertura della superficie. Oltre i 1100 metri d'altitudine si trova il villaggio d'alpeggio della Formentara, già in uso nel 1500 e ormai del tutto disabitato. Da intraprendere una passeggiata fra mulattiere e sentieri alla scoperte delle tante “Maestà” sparse fra quesi monti. In estate il verde di questi luoghi si carica di colori e profumi: biancospino, alberi da frutto, frutti di bosco selvatici.