Pietrasanta

I'd never noticed Pietrasanta. A serious omission considering the number of times I've travelled to that part of Italy, staying in Marina di Massa, La Spezia and Costa degli Etruschi just in recent years, with various other trips further afield where an overnight somewhere so nice would have been ideal. I discover it as an interesting destination thanks to the TripAdvisor Italy Forum and also find ideal accommodation for the night we arrive by ferry in Livorno after our holiday in Sardinia. The day on the ferry is relaxing, but I take a wrong turn just after leaving the port and then when we do get onto the motorway the Telepass doesn't work. Ooops. A quick search on Google by Andrea while I'm driving tells us that undoubtedly the battery will be flat after all this time. Why the Telepass people don't realize your battery will be flat after so many years and send you a new one is anybody's guess (you can't change the battery yourself). Nevertheless we still arrive at our accommodation a little too early and our host is nowhere to be seen although her phone is in the house with the door open. Dusk is falling and we're in the middle of nowhere and it's all a bit Gothic horror but in the end she turns up and we make it to one of the local pizzerias for a take-away at 9.25 pm. A hungry customer who arrives 30 seconds after me is told they are closing, so who said it wasn't our lucky evening.

The next morning the sun is shining and after finding a new Telepass and petrol we park in the free car park near the station in Pietrasanta. From there, the underpass takes us to the centre in 2 or 3 minutes. And a very nice centre it is too. Pietrasanta specialises in art and in particular sculptures. There are a lot of them scattered through the streets, a delightful open air museum in a very attractive historical centre.

I'm aiming for the church with the frescoes  by Fernando Botero, which is apparently not always open. On the way we snub the Duomo, which is, and should be until 12.30. Chiesa di Sant'Antonio e San Biagio Abate is open and the frescoes alone would be worth the visit. 

We're in no hurry to get back to the Duomo and continue in the direction of Piazza Statuto where there are more sculptures. We wander back down a paralllel street full of interesting boutiques and shops selling art and crafts, and bistrots, heading back to the very attractive Piazza Duomo and the Duomo itself. 

Which is closed for cleaning! Until 11, by which time I'd planned to be already heading for the Cisa Pass on the way back home. Almost by chance we go into the Museo dei Bozzetti "Pierluigi Gherardi", which turns out to be free to enter and really fascinating. It contains an enormous variety of sculptures and maquettes (mini versions made to help the design of the final piece) of sculptures on display all over the world. There are also photographs of the final pieces and details of their locations. Impressive. There's also a nice cloister and good views.

When we come out we stroll more of the pleasant streets, undecided whether to wait for the Duomo to open. But it's a long drive home and anyway Pietrasanta has us hooked, so we decide we'll return the next time we're in the area. We still have to see the inside of the Duomo, the Rocca and the view from there, some of the art galleries......