Route from Seravezza to Forte Dei Marmi - 10

In Seravezza, after visiting the various churches and monuments, we begin our journey towards Forte dei Marmi.

Along the road that runs between the foot of the mountains and the coast there are numerous industries and laboratories linked to the processing of marble quarried from the mountains of the area: Altissimo, Cappella, Ceragiola and Trambiserra.

Leaving the town in the direction of the sea after about 4 km you reach Ripa di Versilia; from here, going up to the right, we arrive at Strettoia famous for the vineyards and olive trees that climb towards Mount Ripa.

Ripa, located on the right bank of the Versilia river, is located on the route of the Via Francigena, in the stretch between Camaiore, at the point where the ancient Via Romana joined the road that leads from Forte dei Marmi to Seravezza, and Garfagnana. At the time there was a rest hospital dedicated to San Sisto, documented since 1118, where pilgrims could rest and be treated; from here, after crossing the Versilia River, they reached the town of Vallecchia towards Pietrasanta. Together with Corvaia, Ripa was practically razed to the ground in 1944 by the Germans, to build a defensive line to counter the arrival of the Allies. Today Ripa is part of a large urban area that includes the hamlet of Querceta, where the Querceta-Forte dei Marmi railway station is located. In the center of the town, there is a monument to the poet Garibaldo Alessandrini, a great friend of Alfredo Catarsini, in whose archives the numerous correspondence between the two is preserved. The monument was created by Mauro Buratti based on a sketch by the sculptor Leone Tommasi, another great friend of Catarsini, as were other members of the Tommasi Ferroni artistic family. With its contrada La Lucertola, Ripa is one of the eight contradas that participate in the renowned Palio dei Micci.

Continuing further, we arrive in Querceta, where the headquarters of the Henraux Foundation is located, whose initiatives are aimed both at innovation and artistic and technological experimentation of processing and at the conservation and enhancement of the historical and productive heritage of marble.

The artistic collection of the Foundation, dedicated to modern and contemporary art, includes works by Italian and international artists including Henry Moore, Hans Arp, Isamu Noguchi, Joan Mirò and many others.

Querceta is also famous for the Palio dei Micci (donkeys in the local dialect), an event held annually on the first Sunday of May, opened in the morning by the parade with groups of musicians and flag-wavers through the streets of the town; followed by mass in the church of Santa Maria Lauretana, with the blessing of the donkeys, jockeys and contradaioli.

The Contrade are eight: Cervia, Leon d’Oro, Lucertola, Madonnina, Ponte, Pozzo, Quercia and Ranocchio. Before the race, over 2,500 people dress up for a day as ladies, knights, men-at-arms and pages, and parade with the colours of their own contrada on the athletics track of the “Buon Riposo” Stadium, while at the same time on the green lawn about a hundred extras bring to life re-enactments of real or imaginary events from the historical period (usually the early Middle Ages) to which each contrada is inspired. The parade is opened by the winning contrada of the previous edition. The race, which takes place in the late afternoon, includes six laps of the track for about 2,000 metres in a ring circuit inside the green lawn.

From Querceta the road continues through the countryside with its olive trees until reaching the gates of Forte dei Marmi and the sea