FIVIZZANO - NORTHERN TUSCANY - LUNIGIANA
Fivizzano is a small Medici town in the very north of Tuscany , between Liguria and Emilia Romagna. This small district called the Lunigiana being situated between the Apuan Alps and the Apennine offers good walking possibilities, also alpine walking and climbing. The name Lunigiana comes from the antique roman harbour town Luni between Sarzana and the mouth of the river Magra, nowadays you can see here in an open air museum what archaeological excavations brought into daylight. Already the Roman legionaries came to the Lunigiana to enjoy the mild and healthy climate during the elsewhere unfriendly wintertime.
The presence of signs from the Stone Age, the enigmatic Stele-Statues, the Romanesque churches and numerous castles impart to this area a mystical touch.
All this in a nearly untouched nature, full of aroma, light and colour which renders possible the amalgamation of high alpine peaks and the sea. Lovely views over mountains, valleys, olive groves, chestnut forests invite to stay, enjoy and rest.
Vacation at Fivizzano means vacation in a green, unspoilt, mainly undiscovered part of Tuscany, far away from crowded tourist tracks but still close enough to important attractions like Florence (2 hours), Pisa (1 hour), Lucca (1 hour) and the “Cinque Terre” (1 hour) .
Here the Mediterranium mixes with the alpine influence, which you also can see and taste in numerous unusual meals served in the “trattorias” of the area, (if you have ever tasted “Testaroli al Pesto” you will understand….).
In the centre of the walled Medieval town Fivizzano you find everything you need: small shops selling local products, mini-supermarkets, butcher, baker, chemist, shoemaker,…plenty of cafés, delicious ice cream! , restaurants and pizzerias. You can hire a tennis-court, nearby there is a big outdoor swimming-pool and also a riding-stable. Unbeatable (we think) is the square “Piazza Medicea” with it's Medici fountain and the two Bars, just a little effort to decide neither one or the other, ice cream or beer and…... taken the decision, you can sit there for hours, watching Italian life go by , changing from time to time, from lunch-time to evening, from market day to normal, to Sunday……..