In my previous post I described the buildings along the lungomare in Viareggio in what was basically just a straight walk along the promenade. This post tidies up the remaining buildings of interest that I came across in my wanderings which are dotted all over town, so this is a more urban, zig-zagging route than the previous one.
You’ll find all the buildings on my map (key top left). Once again there are several gaps in my knowledge, please help me fill in the blanks!
Technically these first few buildings are in Camaiore, the next commune along the coast from Viareggio, but I include them here for simplicity’s sake. You could make the walk considerably shorter if you cut out the Camaiore loop, in which case you should start (or end) at Villa Argentina below.
Walking along Via Fortino in Camaiore I came across a couple of unexpected units…
Address: 92 Via del Fortino, Camaiore
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built:
Architect:
Address: 73 Via del Fortino, Camaiore
Style: Venetian Gothic Revival?
Year built:
Architect:
Name: Il Fortino
Address: 25 Via Papa Leone XIII, Camaiore
Style: Liberty I guess
Year built:
Architect:
The property is now a B&B with good Tripadvisor reviews should you be looking for somewhere to stay.
I recommend walking back to Viareggio via Pineta Di Ponente Park which brings you out right by Villa Argentina (your starting point should you decide not to walk to Camaiore).
Name: Villa Argentina
Address: 44 Via Amerigo Vespucci
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built: 1926
Architects: Alessandro Lippi
Decoration: Galileo Chini
The jewel in the crown of Stile Liberty in Viareggio. The decoration, both inside and out, is considered to be some of the best by nationally famous ceramist Galileo Chini who had a hand in eight of the buildings I’ve mentioned in this post and the last. The interior, now open to the public, is simply stunning. I hope to go back in non-Covid times to see it.
I stumbled upon a few other lovely houses while walking between Villa Argentina and Villino Nistri. Not quite sure where some of them are, sorry but the ‘Quattro Venti’ residential district is quite a nice area to wander around. I came across at least three faux castles when I when I was trying to retrace my route on Streetview !
As well as some lovely gardens…
Address: 24 Viale Michelangelo Buonarroti
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built:
Architect:
Now we come to a small cluster of some of Viareggio’s finest Stile Liberty villas…
Name: Fondazione Centro Matteucci per l’Arte Moderna aka Villa Tomei
Address: 28 Via Gabriele D’Annunzio
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built: 1915
Architect: Serafino Ramacciotti
Decoration: Galileo Chini
The Foundation has regular exhibitions on nineteenth and twentieth century Italian art and carries out restoration projects in Viareggio. Here for example is a video of work being done on some of Galileo Chini’s ceramics.
Name: Villino Nistri
Address: 7 Viale Michelangelo Buonarroti
Style: Oriental Stile Liberty
Year built: 1913
Architect: Enrico Nistri
Professor Enrico Nistri was inspired by the Islamic art he encountered in Cairo where he once lived and worked. Upon his return he incorporated these arabesque themes into the design of his new private home. The minaret-like tower, the ogival arches and the two-tone facade are some of the features that helped the building get its nickname “la Moschea” (the mosque).
Name: Villino Il Guscio
Address: 4 Via Gabriele D’Annunzio
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built: 1914
Architect: Oreste Lenci
You could probably leave this one till you’re catching a train…
Name: Signal Box
Address: Stazione di Viareggio
Style: Art Deco
Year built: 1936?
Architect: Roberto Narducci
There were a few residences in the midtown area that caught my eye.
Name: Farmacia Centrale Poggetti
Address: 90 Via Giacomo Matteotti
Style: Stile Liberty
Year built:
Architect:
And a taste of home…
Address: 209 Via Sant’Andrea
Style: Neo-Brutalist
Year built:
Architect:
It’s definitely Brutalist because, as you can see on Streetview, the rough surfaces of the wooden planks used for ‘shuttering’ the raw concrete (casting it cast in-situ) have left their mark.
Name: Chiesa San Paolino
Address: 221 Via Sant’Andrea
Style:
Year built: 1886
Architect:
Name: Parrocchia Di San Antonio
Address: Piazza San Antonio
Style:
Year built:
Architect:
Name: La Sede della Misericordia di Viareggio
Address: 97 Via Felice Cavallotti
Style:
Year built:
Architect:
Decoration: Galileo Chini
Name: Torre Matilde
Address: Via della Foce
Style: Defensive Medieval
Year built: 1541
Architect:
This tower is the oldest building in Viareggio. It was a defensive fortification built by the Republic of Lucca to defend its gateway to the sea against incursions from corsairs (Ottoman pirates).
And that was my experience of Viareggio. Hope I can go again one day when everything is open again. off to Lucca, the regional capital, next…