Pietrasanta: Tuscany's Year-Round Sculpture Hub

Pietrasanta, a charming town in Tuscany with around 20,000 residents, has evolved from being a supplier of marble for Michelangelo to a renowned sculpture hub. Back in 1518, Pope Leo X commissioned Michelangelo to design the facade for Florence's Church of San Lorenzo. Instead of sourcing marble from the usual Carrara quarries, he chose new ones near Pietrasanta, overseeing the extraction and planning transport routes himself. Today, the town is bustling with workshops and foundries that serve artists from all over the globe, becoming a seasonal hotspot for art creators. To keep the artistic spirit alive, local leaders established the Fondazione Centro Arti Visive di Pietrasanta. Nicola Lattanzi, its director, notes that despite being slightly off the main art path, Pietrasanta attracts many famous artists.