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Inhabitants in 1991: 9.514
 The
territory of Forte dei Marmi in Versilia, extends for 9 square kilometres
between the Cinquale and the communal borders with Pietrasanta, beyond
this it unites with the centre of Fiumetto. In 1914 it was constituted
in autonomous municipality with the same name district detached from
Pietrasanta.
The XVI century saw the first development of the area,
which had for a long time had been uninhabited due to its marshy terrain,
after Michelangelo, commissioned by Pope Leone X, laid out a road for
the transport of marble from the Alpi Apuane to the sea; and an embarkation
pier and a warehouse were at length the only buildings in the settlement.
At the end of the 1700s with the Leopoldine land reclaims, the
locality began to be populated by fishermen, marble workers and
rural workers.
 In 1788
the construction of a fort was completed which gave the name to
the community and during the 1800s the marble industry grew with the consequential
augmentation of the Port activity. Forte dei Marmi must thank tourism
for its eventual take off, it had a timid start towards the end of the
1800, but its rapid rise is dated from the immediate post war years, when
the town became the resort destination for the elite of the aristocracy,
industrialists and intellectuals.
Places to visit:
The Pier, constructed in 1500,
used for centuries for the loads of Marble from the Apuane. |
Historical info reproduced upon authorization of
Regione Toscana - Dipartimento della Presidenza E Affari Legislativi e
Giuridici
Picture by Sandro Santioli
Translated by Ann Mountford
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Gallery: Lucca area
