Handicraft in Versilia

Thanks to the presence of Apuan Alps and its marble quarries, the working of marble is the most important activity in Versilia.
In 1518 in Pietrasanta, Michelangelo Buonarroti concluded contracts in order to mine marble from Apuan Alps. Craft tradition is present for a long time.

You can still find several workshops and it is possible to visit them; you can also find, by chance, some famous works.
In the old days, people worked on the marble by using tools produced in ironworks in Stazzema.

Born in 1843 and still alive, the school “Istituto d’Arte Stagio Stagi” goes on teaching students the working of marble and of bronze.

In the district of Seravezza, it is possible to visit the “Museo del lavoro e delle Tradizioni Popolari.” (Museum about the working and popular traditions).

The subsoil of Versilia is also rich of minerals and, in the face of the request of tools for the working, a strong tradition in ironworks is strongly developed.
Next to the artists who looked for the help of workers in Pietrasanta, artistic foundries of bronze were born, thanks to the initiative of some craftspeople from Florence who moved here. The oldest artistic foundry dates back to 1885.

In Viareggio, the shipbuilding industry is flourishing and renowned. For example, the craft par excellence is the so-called “Barcobestia”, denomination deriving from the Italianization of “barca” (craft) and “The Best.”

Viareggio is also well known thanks to the working of papier-mâché; people use this material to construct the stunning parade floats of Carnival of Viareggio.