The places of Catarsini

“The Places of Catarsini” Walk is an accessible and inclusive route, also designed for blind and visually impaired visitors, that brings together art, history, nature, and food & wine culture for an authentic slow-travel experience rooted in local excellence.

Conceived in 2020 by the Fondazione Alfredo Catarsini 1899, under the leadership of President Elena Martinelli, the project is developed in collaboration with the Touring Club Italiano and endorsed by seven municipalities in the province of Lucca, together with the Province of Lucca.

The Walk is dedicated to Alfredo Catarsini, a painter and writer from Viareggio who, throughout much of the 20th century, played a key role in promoting his hometown, Versilia, and the wider Lucca area in Italy and abroad. More than a journey through the places of Art and Literature experienced by the artist, the Walk is conceived as an open-air, site-specific exhibition: instead of moving from room to room, visitors move from place to place – across landscapes and through time. Each stop reveals Catarsini’s artistic and human journey, the intensity of his line and color, and a vision constantly evolving through multiple forms of artistic expression.

One of the key stops is Villa Bertelli, where six works by the Maestro are on display and where the Gianvittorio Serralunga Experiential Lab has been created.

The Walk also offers a refined gastronomic experience, highlighting the marked differences between the cuisine of inland Lucchesia and that of coastal Versilia. At each stop, the informational totems – alongside texts and QR codes linking to routes and artworks – also indicate participating restaurants where visitors can enjoy a dish dedicated to the artist, discovering local flavors and culinary traditions.

“The Places of Catarsini” Walk unfolds across three itineraries of varying length and duration. Stretching between sea and hills, the route can be followed independently – on foot, by bicycle, motorcycle, or car. A modular project that weaves together art, history, and gastronomy, offering a truly slow and immersive travel experience through the excellence of the region.

Short route: “The Walk of Frescoes and Panoramas” – 53 km
Medium route: “The Walk of Lucchesia and the Coast” – 77 km
Long route: “The Complete Walk of the Versilias” – 97 km

At each stop, a descriptive totem presents images of the displayed works, a digital map of the route, and explanatory QR codes. The centrally positioned QR Code “0” provides audio recordings of all adapted texts, produced by the Italian Union of the Blind and Visually Impaired, ensuring full accessibility for visitors with visual disabilities.

Located on the ground floor of Villa Bertelli, in the Ernesto Treccani Room, the Gianvittorio Serralunga Experiential Lab is designed especially for blind and visually impaired visitors. It offers an innovative tactile reading of the painting “Marina with Figures,” reproduced in high relief and tactile drawings. The project is complemented by audio descriptions and bespoke glass panels installed at each stop along the Walk.

On the second floor of the Villa, within the Quarto Platano Museum, visitors can also view the oil painting “The Wheat of the Lucchese Reclamation” and four caricatures portraying the artist himself, Leonida Repaci, Enrico Pea, and Arturo Dazzi – artists and intellectuals who once frequented the historic Quarto Platano in Forte dei Marmi.

For in-depth information about the artist and the Foundation dedicated to him, please visit www.fondazionecatarsini.com