Borgo della Madonnina

Whether you want art and architecture, culture and entertainment, food and shopping, walking and hiking or lazy days on the beach, Borgo della Madonnina is within easy reach of a different holiday each day.

Lucca

Lucca is the most graceful of Tuscany’s provincial capitals, luxuriating inside perfectly preserved Renaissance walls, fronted by gardens and huge bastions. The city is a treasure trove of palazzi, tower houses and churches, which are easy to enjoy thanks to the fact that the local population has banned cars from its streets, choosing to ride bicycles instead.

Henry James described Lucca as “a place overflowing with everything that makes for ease, for plenty, for beauty, for interest and good example”, and that certainly remains true today. This is the heart of one of Italy’s richest agricultural regions, “half smothered in oil and wine and corn and all the fruits of the earth”, as James put it.

It’s said that Lucca once had seventy churches and today you can hardly walk for five minutes without coming across a small piazza and its marble fronted church. The trio of the Duomo, San Michele and San Frediano are among the highlights, although San Giusto, off Piazza Napoleone, is a recently restored favourite.

Also don’t miss Piazza Anfiteatro, a stunning circular square incorporating parts of the old Roman amphitheatre; Torre Guinigi, topped by two holm oaks; and the Palazzo Ducale, once home to Elisa Baciocchi, Napoleon’s sister and Grand Duchess of Tuscany, and now a museum and gallery.

Foodies and shopaholics will love Lucca, which has a wide range of high quality restaurants and luxury shopping focused on Via Fillungo.

The Villas

Lucca’s surrounding hillsides are dotted with beautiful ‘country house’ villas built by wealthy Lucchese merchants and aristocratic landowners. Many involved the leading architects and designers of the day either in the creation of the villas themselves or in the design of the magnificent parks and gardens that surround them.

Villa Reale, Villa Mansi and Villa Torrigiani are situated at Marlia, half way between Borgo della Madonnina and Lucca.

Florence

Where to begin? But then Florence needs no introduction. During a single day trip to Florence, you’ll be able to take in many of the sights that make this the art and architiecture lover’s capital city.

A visit to the Duomo, as well as its Baptistery and Campanile, or bell tower, is essential viewing. Other churches well worth a visit include Santa Maria Novella, Santa Maria del Carmine, Santo Spirito and San Miniato al Monte.

Also, don’t miss the Piazza della Signoria, possibly the best stocked outdoor art gallery in the world. On the Piazza you’ll find the Palazzo Vechio and, nearby, the glories of the famous Uffizi Gallery.

At the Accademia, you’ll discover Michelangelo’s David and in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata, the city’s most beautiful square. The Ponte Vecchio, with its myriad of gold and jewellery shops, takes you to the Palazzo Pitti, now a world class museum.

Florence is a 75 minute drive away, or can be reached by train from Diecimo at the end of our valley, changing at Lucca.

Pisa

At its heart, Pisa is a medieval masterpiece, with the famous tower being just one element of the magnificent Campo dei Miracoli or Field of Miracles. This is made up of the Duomo, the Baptistery, the Leaning Tower and the Camposanto, a beautiful wall of tombs running along the north side of the Piazza.

These and a dozen or more churches and palazzi are evidence of Pisa’s golden age from the eleventh to the thirteenth century, when the city and its port was one of the foremost maritime powers in the Mediterranean. Pisa has been home to one of Italy’s major universities since before the time of Galileo and student life is a major aspect of the city’s strong sense of identity.

The Versilia Riviera

The Versilia Riviera boasts an unbroken stretch of beach running for over 20 kilometres. It’s served by over 400 bathing establishments, most complete with a bar and a restaurant, some with swimming pool and all with shower cubicles and an array of beach furniture and umbrellas.

The Italian way of ‘doing’ the beach had to involve food and so the usual plan is to park the car in the private car park off the road, wander through a pleasant garden to the bar and restaurant for lunch. Afterwards, stroll down the board walk to your sunbed and umbrella and fall gently asleep. All without getting sand on your feet.

The Riviera is made up of a number of different towns, including Torre del Lago Puccini, Viareggio, Lido di Camaiore, Marina di Pietrasanta and the jewel of them all, Forte dei Marmi.

Slightly inland, Pietrasanta, Camaiore, Serravezza, Stazzema and Massarossa are all possibilities for an aperitivo and the passagiata on the way home to Borgo della Madonnina.