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Towns of the area

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Forte dei Marmi

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Inhabitants in 1991: 9.514

The territory of Forte dei Marmi in Versilia, extends for 9 square kilometres between the Cinquale and the communal borders with Pietrasanta, beyond this it unites with the centre of Fiumetto. In 1914 it was constituted in autonomous municipality with the same name district detached from Pietrasanta.

The XVI century saw the first development of the area, which had for a long time had been uninhabited due to its marshy terrain, after Michelangelo, commissioned by Pope Leone X, laid out a road for the transport of marble from the Alpi Apuane to the sea; and an embarkation pier and a warehouse were at length the only buildings in the settlement. At the end of the 1700s with the Leopoldine land reclaims, the locality began to be populated by fishermen, marble workers and rural workers.

In 1788 the construction of a fort was completed which gave the name to the community and during the 1800s the marble industry grew with the consequential augmentation of the Port activity. Forte dei Marmi must thank tourism for its eventual take off, it had a timid start towards the end of the 1800, but its rapid rise is dated from the immediate post war years, when the town became the resort destination for the elite of the aristocracy, industrialists and intellectuals.

Places to visit:
The Pier, constructed in 1500, used for centuries for the loads of Marble from the Apuane.

Historical info reproduced upon authorization of Regione Toscana - Dipartimento della Presidenza E Affari Legislativi e Giuridici
Picture by Sandro Santioli
Translated by Ann Mountford


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