Forte Dei Marmi - History

History

During their expansion within the Italian territory, the Romans settled in Versilia. The army managed to overcome the people of Liguria in the 2nd century BC, under the skillful command of the proconsuls Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Baebius Tamphilus. The whole territory was centuriated to create new settlements for the colonies coming from Luni and Lucca. The silver lead and iron mines were exploited and the area became a strong economic resource. Between Querceta (Serravezza) and the Vaiana area, where Forte dei Marmi is currently located, there was a road that represented one of the axes of the Roman land centuriation (This road was later called "Via delle mordure", and to this day it bears this name). Vaiana is mentioned in a document from 794 AC that registers the sale of a piece of land then called "Vaiano", where it was later discovered that there were springs that contributed to the waterlogging of the nearby countrysides. In 1515 the marble quarries of the Versilian municipalities were donated to the Medici family; consequentially new quarries were opened and a new road was laid out to bring the marble blocks down to the sea, where a pier was built. In the mid-17th century, the Medici government decided to divert the flow of the river Versilia, to avoid the flooding of the town of Pietrasanta. A new course was laid so that the waters of the Versilia would overflow naturally in the swamps of lake Porta. This meant that the territories of Querceta and Vaiana had to be cut out of the river's trajectory. At about 1'500 meters, the river Versilia's new path crossed a road wanted and planned by the great artist Michelangelo, so a wooden bridge was built (this bridge was called "Ponte delle Tavole": "bridge made out of wooden planks"). Throughout the years, other canals were built and the area was reclaimed. The road became more and more important for the marble transportation. The first real settlement on the coast was called Caranna; it was not far from the watersprings of Vaiana. Later on, other settlements were built in what now is the current Forte dei Marmi city centre. Initially, the area was called "Magazzino del Ferro" (The Iron deposit) or "Magazzino della Magona" or "Magazzino dei Marmi" ( The Marble deposit) because of the only building on the seashore. The whole district was also known as "Marina"; the county road that went from Querceta to the sea is to this day known as "Provinciale di Marina" (Marina county road).

In 1788 the Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopoldo I of Lorena planned and commissioned the construction of a fort, the Forte Lorense, to defend the marble shipments and promote the territory - to assure future settlements. It was similar to the forts of Marina di Castagneto and Marina di Bibbona on the Maremma seaside. The Fort was completed on the 6th of February 1788. It was an important defense point against pirate raids and it was also used as a deposit for the marble that came from the Apuane mountains and was destined to be shipped out to sea. Thus, the area began to be known as Forte dei Marmi (The Fortress of Marble). In 1833 the Grand Ducal Government asked the engineer Giovanni Franchi to reconstruct the Ponte delle Tavole (The bridge was then destroyed in 1944, during the nazi invasion of Italy. It was later built in bricks). In the meantime, the town of Forte dei Marmi had been under the administration of Pietrasanta, in 1438 under the Captaincy of Versilia (part of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany) and after the Italian Unification in 1861 it was considered part of the municipality of Pietrasanta. The touristic development at the beginning of the '900s led to the birth of a city committee that asked for the detachment from Pietrasanta and planned on joining the town of Serravezza or on affirming its own independence. With the political support of the honourable Giovanni Montauti from Lucca, sponsored by the counts Siemens-Schuckert who owned most of the territory, Forte dei Marmi declared its independence on the 26th of April 1914.

Forte dei Marmi was the holiday destination of the Agnelli family. Gianni Agnelli and his sisters spent their summer vacations at Villa Costanza, now part of the Augustus Hotel & Resort. Susanna Agnelli spoke about her childhood by the seaside in her autobiography "We Always Wore Sailor Suits". Virginia, mother of the famous lawyer Gianni and widow of Edoardo, died in a tragic car accident while driving from Rome to the popular beach resort.