Cammino I luoghi di Catarsini
Il mondo va, la mia arte arriva
A widespread exhibition of 43 works by Alfredo Catarsini, hosted in 10 exhibition venues in public buildings, to be reached on foot and by other means along three staged routes of varying length that link Lucca to Versilia by way of the Val Freddana.
A Cammino told by the 8 totems built at the arrival points and fitted with QR codes that open pages rich in information on art, landscape, history, food and wine culture, presences such as that of Giacomo Puccini and curiosities too.
An experience of slow tourism through Catarsini’s art and the finest things this land has to offer, created in partnership with the Touring Club Italiano.
The only Cammino in Italy accessible to visitors with visual impairments as well, for whom the texts on the totems have been audio recorded, with adapted descriptions and an Experiential Workshop for the reinterpretation of the image.
Stages and routes
The Cammino “I luoghi di Catarsini” is a widespread exhibition across the province of Lucca, along routes that link Lucca to Versilia by way of the Val Freddana. There are three routes and they can also be walked independently, on foot, by bicycle, by motorbike or by car.
The first stage of the Cammino is Lucca, Palazzo Orsetti where, in the ground-floor State Room, five works emblematic of Catarsini’s output are on display: marble quarries, seascapes, Riflessismo and Mechanical Symbolism.
The second stage is the Romanesque church of San Tommaso apostolo (1260) in the Lucca hamlet of Castagnori, where the frescoes the artist painted in 1945 are to be found;
The third stage is the church of San Martino vescovo in the hamlet of San Martino in Freddana in the municipality of Pescaglia, with frescoes from 1944; it was the setting that inspired his novel Giorni neri.
The fourth stage is Camaiore, Town Hall and Museum of Sacred Art with sacred subjects, cartoons and fresco sketches
The fifth stage is Pietrasanta, where he taught for 20 years at the local art school; two works from that period are held in the Sala Arte BVLG;
The sixth stage is Forte dei Marmi, Villa Bertelli; Catarsini took an active part in the “Quarto Platano” cultural circle and contributed for twenty years to the monthly Versilia Oggi. On display are four caricatures of artists, the important historical work Il grano della bonifica lucchese which took part in the Premio Cremona of 1940, and the work reproduced as a sculptural high relief and in raised drawings, an integral part of the Experiential Workshop for the reinterpretation of the image for blind and partially sighted people.
The seventh stage is Viareggio, Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte where his Studio can be visited together with the historical archive; other works, part of the family’s donation to the Municipality of Viareggio, are on display in the Civic Library. Viareggio is also home to his birthplace, the seat of the Foundation and a square named after him.
The eighth and last stage is Massarosa, Antico Opificio La Brilla; in the room dedicated to him you can admire works inspired by Lake Massaciuccoli and the countryside.
The stages of the Cammino
At every stop a totem tells the story of Catarsini and of the works on display there. Here you can read and listen to it all from home.
- 01 Lucca 15 items · with artworks on display
- 02 Castagnori 14 items · with artworks on display
- 03 San Martino in Freddana 15 items · with artworks on display
- 04 Camaiore 15 items · with artworks on display
- 05 Pietrasanta 15 items · with artworks on display
- 06 Seravezza 13 items · with artworks on display
- 07 Forte dei Marmi 15 items · with artworks on display
- 08 La Versiliana 14 items · with artworks on display
- 09 Lido di Camaiore 12 items
- 10 Viareggio 15 items · with artworks on display
- 11 Massarosa 15 items · with artworks on display
Distances of the three routes and location of the exhibition venues
Please note: stages are measured from totem to totem (that is, from one display of works to the next); only in Camaiore and Viareggio are there two exhibition venues:
– in Camaiore, besides the Town Hall where the totem stands, further works are in the Museum of Sacred Art;
– in Viareggio, besides the Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte where the totem stands, further works are in the municipal library.
Directions are given on the totems of the two main venues.
The mapping of the route is still being completed, so the distances given may carry a small margin of error, but all the roads are passable and easy to identify today with Google Maps.
Stage 1 – 33 km (Lucca Palazzo Orsetti – Castagnori, Romanesque church of San Tommaso apostolo – San Martino in Freddana, church of San Martino vescovo – Camaiore Town Hall).
Stage 2 – 19 km (Camaiore Town Hall – Pietrasanta Spazio Arte BVLG – Forte dei Marmi Villa Bertelli).
Stage 3 – 14 km (Forte dei Marmi Villa Bertelli – Viareggio Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte).
Stage 4 – 31 km (Viareggio Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte – Massarosa Antico Opificio la Brilla – Lucca Palazzo Orsetti).
Stage 1 – 33 km (Lucca Palazzo Orsetti – Castagnori, Romanesque church of San Tommaso apostolo – San Martino in Freddana, church of San Martino vescovo – Camaiore Town Hall).
Stage 2– 13 km (link route Camaiore Town Hall – Viareggio Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte).
Stage 3 – 31 km (Viareggio Villa Museo Paolina Bonaparte – Massarosa Antico Opificio la Brilla – Lucca Palazzo Orsetti).
Stage 1 – 17 km (Lucca Palazzo Orsetti – Castagnori, Romanesque church of San Tommaso apostolo – San Martino in Freddana, church of San Martino vescovo).
Stage 2 – 14 km (link route San Martino in Freddana – Massarosa, Antico Opificio la Brilla).
Stage 3 – 22 km (Massarosa Antico Opificio la Brilla – Lucca Palazzo Orsetti).
The totems and the accessible, inclusive cammino
The Cammino is innovative because it comes with many narratives. Walkers are not left on their own: at each stage stands a totem, designed by the Catarsini Foundation, with a map and images alongside 15 QR codes, from which to draw historical and landscape information about the place, biographical notes on Catarsini and on the Foundation named after him, images and descriptions of the works on display, as well as information on the food and wine of the hinterland, the coast, the lake and the scrubland, and news and curiosities about Giacomo Puccini. One QR code is devoted to the description of the route linking that site to the next, with further reading. On every totem a raised QR code holds the audio recording of the descriptions of the works and of all the texts. Created in partnership with the Unione Italiana Ciechi and the Museo Tattile Statale Omero in Ancona, it makes the Cammino the only example of its kind in Italy, accessible and inclusive for blind and partially sighted people too.
Experiential workshop of motor-based sensory reactivation, for the reinterpretation of the image and the acquisition of new skills by people with visual impairments
The Experiential Workshop, named after the founder Gianvittorio Serralunga, is at the Villa Bertelli venue in Forte dei Marmi and is part of the Foundation’s multi-year project “Cambiamo il punto di vista!” for the enjoyment of works of art by blind and partially sighted people. The workshop is open by appointment for practical sessions with tactile exploration of a sculptural high relief and of raised drawings of a work on display. The sessions include reading in Braille and listening to the description of the work.
The gastronomic experience
A unique experience for the palate and for rest: awaiting the walker are the delicacies of restaurateurs who have created a menu dedicated to Catarsini.
Find out which restaurants serve the Catarsini Menu:
The journey will continue over the years, following an approach that sees innovation and discovery as the keys to continuous improvement.
With this in mind, the totems also carry the QR code “Leave your comment”, through which visitors are invited to send requests or share their own account.
Sensations do not depend on contact with places alone: they are evoked and rediscovered through timeless art, in the movement of a world that goes.
The journey is about to begin. Don’t miss this unique chance!
Catarsini was a complete artist, a tireless painter and a most effective writer; and he found in himself an almost constant source of inspiration. The many self-portraits he painted over his lifetime bear witness to it, as does his experimentalism in going so far as to create new artistic movements such as Riflessismo and Mechanical Symbolism.
Cristina Acidini, President of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence, member of the scientific committee of the Fondazione Catarsini 1899