Artworks along Italy's A11 highway visible from car windows

The A11 highway, also known as the Firenze-Mare, connects Florence to the Tyrrhenian Sea, crossing the provinces of Prato, Pistoia, Pisa, and Lucca. Built between the 1920s and 1930s during the Fascist era, it is the ninth Italian highway and the busiest in Tuscany. In June 1935, racing driver Tazio Nuvolari set two world speed records on its straight stretch near Altopascio, averaging 321.420 km/h over one kilometer and 323.125 km/h over one mile in an Alfa Romeo 16C Bimotore owned by Enzo Ferrari. Along the highway, several monumental artworks and installations are visible from vehicles. In the Pistoia area, Michele Fabbricatore's 2018 installation "Il giardino della mente" for Tesi Group consists of five four-meter-high totems, each topped with a tree, promoting environmental awareness. At Vannucci Piante's Nursery Park in Pistoia, Claudio Parmiggiani's "Le mani che trattengono le ore"—a 15-meter-high Carrara marble twisted column—stands alongside Andrea Massaini's recent site-specific installation "Save the Planet," featuring ten 12-meter cypress trees each wearing a life preserver to symbolize the protective power of plants. Near Capannori, five giant ants by Luca Bertozzi and Alessandro Avanzini (Art and Kraft) for Sofidel, representing mascots Milla and friends from Cartacamomilla Regina, reach 5.5 meters in height with interchangeable accessories.