Pietrasanta
Pietrasanta is a charming, ancient town at a stone’s throw from the lively beach resorts in the Versilia area of the province of Lucca. Thanks to its strategic position on the northwestern border of Tuscany and its proximity to the Carrara marble quarries, Pietrasanta was contended by the great powers of Tuscany. It owes its fame to the presence of great artists and sculptors including Michelangelo who stayed months and months while choosing the best marble for his work. The know-how and skill to sculpt marble has been passed down from the Renaissance to present day, perpetuated by the able hands of marble and bronze craftsmen who work in local studios. Today Pietrasanta is considered an open-air museum. In the streets and piazzas, big and small, the most incredible pieces of contemporary sculpture can be viewed.
Main points of interest
- Il Guerriero (The Warrior), a large bronze statue, by Fernando Botero, in Piazza Matteotti
- Peace Frame by Nall in Piazza Crispi
- Via di Mezzo and Church of Sant’Antonio that displays sculptures by Jacopo della Quercia and Francesco di Valdambrino, and the frescoes ‘Paradise’ and ‘Inferno’ by Botero.
- Piazza Duomo: Duomo of San Martino with its Renaissance sculptures and Baptistery
- Gipsoteca, the plaster cast gallery where faithful reproductions of pieces of sculpture (done in plaster) are stored.
- Il Centauro (The Centaur), in bronze, by Igor Mitoraj
- Church and Convent of Sant’Agostino, the complex houses an exhibition of works of art by some of the most well-known contemporary artists in the world.
