A Tuscan Jewel: Pietrasanta
Located on Tuscany’s northern coast, Pietrasanta and its nearby beach resort town, Marina di Pietrasanta, offer an amazing variety of nature and culture to residents and visitors.
Nature triumphs here: the azure Mediterranean sea, long white- sand beaches, waves that give life to a buzzing surf culture in the cooler months of the year, stately olive groves – the product of the centuries-old art of skillful gardening and landscape design – all backed by the white marble mountains rising just a few miles from the shore.
Man has added culture, history, gastronomy, social life and art.
Pietrasanta has Roman origins and was founded as a medieval town around 1255. The town and its environs have hosted artists for well over six centuries, among them many sculptors who have profited from the nearby marble quarries in the Apuan Alps and Carrara. Pietrasanta grew to importance during the 15th century, mainly due to its connection with marble. Michelangelo was the first sculptor to recognize the beauty of the local stone, preferring it for the creation of his magnificent sculptures.
Pietrasanta is still renowned as a center for artists, their workshops and fine art galleries. One of them, Galleria Tega (www.galleriatega.it), pays homage to the best of Italian and international contemporary art at their Versilian summer headquarters in Pietrasanta. Artists featured in their gallery span from the Columbian artist and sculptor Fernando Botero – a Pietrasanta resident – to Chagall, Balla, Christo, Morandi, Rotella, Fontana, Tapies, Chia and Soldati. The Museo dei Bozzetti (www.museodeibozzetti.it) showcases over 600 works from 350 sculptors who have used the famous marble from the area.
Though many famous artists have worked or resided here in the past, Pietrasanta remains a thriving and charming haven for artists today. Those who live and create their art here – participating in its everyday life – continue to give the town its heart and creative soul. Our friend Esther Seidel, a contemporary sculptress and resident of Pietrasanta, represents these artists perfectly. Her website, www.estherseidel.com, reveals the vivacity she breathes into her work.
Rounding out the cultural riches of Pietrasanta is the international La Versiliana Festival (www.laversilianafestival.com), now in its 29th year, where dance, theater, music and more visual art can be found. Held in a beautiful 19th century villa with an expansive park, just across the beach boulevard in Marina di Pietrasanta, it hosts a ten-week program each summer rich in all the visual and performing arts.
Footnote: The latest movie by Spike Lee – Miracle at St. Anna – was shot in the village of St. Anna just a few miles up in the hills from Pietrasanta, and features the 12-year-old Pietrasanta native Leonardo B. (the film will be released September 2008).
– Sibylle Vogel