wish I was here... Viareggio

Viareggio has style. This is a place Italians themselves go on holiday. It lies on the Tuscan coast, between the sea and mountains. The white marble from which Michelangelo carved his statues came from these mountains.

Many of the buildings which look on to the sea were built in the Twenties in art deco style and look magical in the soft evening sun. The town has two great woods of umbrella pines which give welcome shade at midday. Along at the canal-port they build private luxury yachts the size of a Cal-Mac ferry.

The promenade runs for miles, initially beside elegant shops, trattorias, occasional street fairs selling antiques and then by the sandy beach. In the evening it is thronged by locals and visitors alike, of all ages.

You can travel easily to Pisa, Lucca and Florence by train or bus, but it can be a relief to return to the sea and cooler air of Viareggio.

Our hotel had a certain faded grandeur about it. Its terrace, where we lingered over breakfast, was once a favourite hangout of the composer Puccini. His villa is close by at Torre del Lago where we enjoyed Madam Butterfly, performed outdoors on a stage jutting on to the lake.

David Elliot

Copyright 2001
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