Viareggio is a city located in northern Tuscany , Italy , on the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea. With a population of over 63,000 it is the main centre of the northern Tuscan Riviera known as Versilia, and the second largest city within the Province of Lucca .
It is known as a seaside resort as well as being the home of the famous carnival of Viareggio (dating back to 1873), and its papier-mâché floats, which (since 1925), parade along the promenade known as "Passeggiata a mare", in the weeks preceding Easter. The symbol of the carnival of Viareggio and its official mask is Burlamacco, designed and invented by Uberto Bonetti in 1930.
Viareggio hosts the Premio letterario Viareggio Répaci for literature, established in 1929. Amongst the other events organized around the year, it is worth mentioning the Festival Gaber, which has been held every August since 2004 to celebrate the memory of Giorgio Gaber, and is attended by several high-profile Italian musicians.
The entire area of Viareggio extends over the coastal flooding plain of Versilia. Located on the Ligurian Sea (although traditionally considered to face the Tyrrhenian Sea), it has 10 km of sandy beaches, of which 6 km are managed by private beach resorts and the remaining 4 km are public (most of the public beach is part of the Parco Naturale Regionale Migliarino-San Rossore-Massaciuccoli. Viareggio borders the local municipalities of Camaiore , Massarosa and Vecchiano (PI).
The municipal area comprises the Lake of Massaciuccoli and several canals, the most important ones of which are known as Burlamacca, Farabola, Fossa dell'Abate (bordering the municipality of Camaiore ), and Fosso Le Quindici.
Sights
- Villa Orlandi
- Villa Borbone (between Viareggio and Torre del Lago Puccini).
- Villa Puccini, Museum.
- Monument to the Resistance and to Peace, (largo Risorgimento). The monument is made of columns taken from the old City Hall, destroyed by the aerial bombardments of World War II, and two walls running perpendicular to each other. On one of these a mosaic from Folon can be found together with a quote from Quasimodo: "E come potevamo noi cantare con i piedi stranieri sopra il cuore?"/"And how could we sing with foreign feet trampling onto our hearts?", 1998, Bruno Belluomini.
Events
- Carniva
- Unanimously considered the most important carnival celebration of Italy and Europe. It was born in 1873, and the now ever-present papier mâché - used to build the famous floats - was first introduced in 1925. The official masks of the Carnival are Burlamacco and Ondina, drawn for the first time in 1930. Since 1954, RAI broadcasts the entire event on national TV. Since 2001, the craftsmen of the carnival have moved to the Cittadella del Carnevale or, literally, Carnival Town.
- Festival Puccini (held in Torre del Lago Puccini). It takes place every summer since 1930, between July and August, in an open-air theatre with 3,200 seats on the shore of lake Massaciuccoli. A new theatre is currently being built.
- Jazz and more..., music festival held since 2002 at the City of Carnival.
- Festival teatro canzone - Giorgio Gabe