Etappe 4 - dinsdag 10 mei Vertrekpunt: Quarto dei Mille - Livorno Afstand: 208 km
FROM QUARTO DEI MILLE TO LIVORNO
Recco (Ge)
Recco is a tasty foray into the Liguria gastronomy; founded by the Romans in the 1st century b.C., the city was rebuilt after the WWII bombings, and is worldly famous for its focaccia with cheese. The credit for such a success is to be taken by Emanuela Capurro who in 1884 opened an inn under the Roman bridge of San Rocco, mostly patronized by hunters, carters, merchants and traveling salesmen who could appreciate, besides the usual “trenette”, “trofie” types of pasta, and stockfish, also his delicious invention: the focaccia with cheese.
Sarzana (Sp)
Sarzana is a small fortified town dominating the valley of the Magra, which maintained undamaged the charm of an antique small village, and the many references to its ancient past and culture. The picturesque maze of narrow streets winds its way along medieval arcades, antique shops, handicraft and restoration workshops, as well as admirable Renaissance palaces embellished with marble decorations, and railings of great artistic value. The Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral hosts a number of priceless masterpieces among which a crucifix by Master Guglielmo, the oldest painting of a crucifix in the world (1138). The visit of the Castle of Sarzanello, surrounded by a deep moat and boundary walls with ramparts in the shape of a star, is a must.
Carrara
The city of Carrara is the starting point for a visit to the Marble Quarry, one of the most picturesque walk in the Apuan Alps. The Michelangelo used to go in order to personally select the stone for his masterpieces. The Alps, as they can be seen from the beach during the summer, seem to be covered with snow instead of marble. When crossing the tunnels which have been bored through the marble for the passage of the old railway road (which was dismantled in 1964), the landscape turns to moonscape in the middle of the marble field at the bottom of which stand the villages where the miners used to live. Among such villages, Colonnata, which became famous for its lard, slowly seasoned in marble bowls.