Massa Carrara in May - Massa, Carrara, Marina di Massa

On Sunday morning we park near the beach in the hope of a long walk by the sea. The only problem with this particular bit of the Italian coastline is that a lot of bars, restaurants and other buildings providing beach facilities have been built along the beach. Sort of, on the beach next to the promenade totally blocking the view of the sea. So if you want a stroll or run along the wide promenade you don't actually see the sea, just the traffic on the other side.

Since we want to see the sea we walk right on the beach, but this is surprisingly hard going. It looks like extra sand is periodically brought in to improve the beach but this sand, even where it should be firm right down on the shore, isn't, so we sink in a little, making it more of a trudge than a walk. 

We walk south, for about six kilometres and the sea is nice and the breeze is nice but it's pretty tiring, so on the way back we give up and take the promenade and are back in the centre in half the time.

In the afternoon we go to explore the centre of Massa.The outskirts of the centre have quite a few modern buildings but there are a few older streets and the central Piazza Aranci with orange trees on three sides and Palazzo Ducale is a very spacious and pleasant area. There's a marble fountain in the middle with four enormous lions and on this bright afternoon it's a nice place to be. 

After a look at the outside of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Francis which has a fine marble facade, we also walk up to the Castle but without going in, the views over the city reach as far as the sea in the distance.

Marble is everywhere in this area because of the marble quarries in the Carrara area and since it's still quite early and our visit to Massa didn't take long we decide to go to visit Carrara too.

It only takes just over a quarter of an hour and once again it's easy to find free parking just outside the centre. Here the marble influence is even more strongly felt, with marble statues all over the place as well as the marble used in architecture.

The historical centre of Carrara is larger and more interesting than that of Massa. Piazza Alberico is in the heart of the city, and is paved with marble with another fountain in the center, with an lion, surmounted by a large marble statue of the Duchess Maria Beatrice d'Este. There's a little Sunday afternoon market with a few stalls selling craft objects and books. The cathedral dedicated to Sant'Andrea is particularly striking, the black and white stripes typical of many churches of the area are dominated by the white marble and there's a particularly beautiful rosone, and of course a marble statue.

The inside is pleasantly unadorned highlighting the arches and the pulpit. We also like the side streets of the historical centre of Carrara, in particular Via Finelli. Of the two towns we prefer Carrara but all in all it has been an interesting day.