"A Village in the Province of Massa Carrara"

Hi, dearest friends,

Today is Sunday, and honestly, I just woke up, but I’m not exactly sure what I'll be doing this weekend. However, today I definitely want to share some photos with you that I took last week when I was in Tuscany, in the province of Massa Carrara.

I knew about this beautiful village located about 400 meters above sea level, a lovely village with just about a hundred inhabitants. Since I was nearby, I took the opportunity to do my usual exploration, especially since its history dates back to the 13th century when it had a different name.

As soon as I arrived, the first thing that struck me was this monument dedicated to the victims killed here by the Nazis and fascists, because these lands were significant for Italy's liberation from Nazism and fascism. A monument was erected here for those victims, who, from what I understood, were quite numerous in this area. The monument is entirely made of Carrara marble.

Also, in this village, as you can see from the photos, the houses are tightly packed one on top of the other, in a sort of interlocking pattern. This shows how clever people used to be in making use of every available space, but I think it was also a way to better insulate the buildings against the cold. At least that’s what a friend of mine, who is an architect, explained to me some time ago.

Continuing my walk, I arrived at the main church in town, where I found a kind man who was cleaning the square and allowed me to take a look inside the church. He explained that it’s not always open, and I was very lucky to find him there doing this cleaning.

I have to say that the inside of the church was better maintained than its facade, even though this kind man explained that it had been partially reconstructed because there had been a terrible earthquake here several years ago.

Then I continued my walk through the narrow streets of this maze-like village, and at one point, I found numerous kittens roaming freely along the cobbled streets of this beautiful village.

During my exploration, I found a strange fountain. Usually, you come across beautiful works of art, but this fountain seemed to have been made from recycled materials. It looked like they had used an old bathtub, probably because the original fountain had been destroyed.

In conclusion, I can say that I had somewhat higher expectations for this place. It confirms the fact that many of the villages in this part of Tuscany, especially in the province of Massa Carrara, are underappreciated and not as well-maintained as some of the other villages I've shown you here in the community.

Nonetheless, these places are still fascinating and have a truly unique beauty. But as I always say, it’s difficult to live in these places because, for example, in this last village I visited, reaching the houses is very challenging—you can't drive up to them.

I hope you enjoyed the photos I shared and that they took you on a virtual journey with me during this exploration. I’ll see you next time, and I wish you all a happy Sunday!