MONTECATINI TERME
Montecatini is a beautiful town known for its spas. If you want to relax and enjoy all the benefits of spa treatments, this is the right place. In addition, the spas are located in great historic buildings that well worth a visit. For example, the Terme Tettuccio has a monumental entrance with Carrara marble columns and statues. Inside there are many other sculptures and polychrome glass windows. Walking around to Montecatini you can visit other beautiful buildings, such as the Palazzo Comunale, the Teatro Verdi and the Clock Tower.
Terme Tettuccio, Montecatini Terme
MONSUMMANO ALTO
In Monsummano Alto you will find the ruins of an ancient and suggestive Castle. Located on a hill to dominate the Valdinievole, it still has part of the walls, the tower, the two arched doors and the remains of a Roman Gothic chapel. The ruins of the castle invaded by the vegetation and the view of the valley below make it a very fascinating place.
COLLODI
Collodi, a small village part of Pescia, in the province of Pistoia, is the birthplace of Pinocchio. Here is where Carlo Collodi, Carlo Lorenzini pen name, spent his childhood and wrote the adventures of the most famous wooden puppet in the world. In the Pinocchio Park you will find the big statue of the main character, the house of the Blue Fairy, and many sculptures representing the characters of the book.
Pinocchio Park, Collodi
PISTOIA
In Pistoia, capital of culture 2017, you can visit the beautiful Cathedral of San Zeno. Inside there are beautiful frescoes, and also the ruins of a Roman villa. The chapel of the Crucifix is home for the altar of San Jacopo, an extraordinary piece of art, made in silver foil by different artists between 1287 and 1456. Close to the cathedral, and separated from the main building, there is the massive bell tower, 67 meters high and built in in the 12th century in Romanesque style, with loggia and terraces, and Ghibelline battlements.
VINCI
From the province of Pistoia you can move to the province of Florence where you can visit Vinci, the small town that gave birth to Leonardo. Here there is the Leonardinano Museum, dedicated to the genius of the Renaissance, with exhibition of its machines and inventions, to highlight its work as an architect and engineer. Moreover the Leonardian Library and Leonardo’s Ideal Museum are focused on Leonardo as an artist and commit themselves to studies and research.
Leonardian Museum, Vinci
MONTECARLO
In the province of Lucca you will find the town of Montecarlo. Arriving to the town, you can already see in the distance the Tower of the Church of Sant’Andrea, a bell tower with battlements of the 14th century which still stands between the roofs of the old town. The Cerruglio Fortress, or Montecarlo Fort still retains its defensive walls and towers at the corners of a triangular perimeter. This massive military building is truly impressive, and shows the important role of the town in the wars between Florence, Pisa and Lucca.
LUCCA
The city of Lucca is one of the four cities in Italy that preserves its walls. The historic center is still outlined by the same perimeter that it had in the Renaissance. This is just an example of how many historic buildings you can find in this beautiful city. The heart of the city life is Piazza dell’Anfiteatro, named because of the buildings around the square, located exactly in elliptical shape, the same of an ancient pre existing Roman amphitheater.
Among the beautiful churches you can visit the Basilica of San Frediano, one of the oldest, dating back to the 12th century and characterized by the mosaic on the facade representing the Ascension of Jesus Christ.
