Another day that required the rain gear to be deployed, but as the path began to head up, and the volume of rain heading down was inconsequential, it was soon stowed once again. Wearing rain gear in light rain usually results in you geting wet from the inside out.
Once past the town of Massa – although the sign indicating that I was leaving Massa seemed to be well within city limits – it was again a pleasant road in the countryside, with views of the I evitable castles and hilltop villages. One road was designated a “via della arte” and had numerous large reproductions of paintings at the roadside. Given that it was a steep, winding road, I’m not sure how any motorist could give them anything more than a passing glance. Towards the top there was significant road graffiti, the evidence that this section of road had recently been used for a cycling race. Giro d’Italia maybe?
The major town of the day was Pietrasanta, which like most towns in Italy has a Roman history of some sort. In the middle ages its allegiance rotated between Genoa, Lucca, and eventually Florence. Today it is a thriving centre for the arts, particularly sculpture, as the quality of its marble was first recognized by a guy named Michelangelo way back when.
I arrived in Camaiore at 2p – unintentionally the exact time that the Ostello opens. By the time I’d done the usual shower and laundry the skies had opened up and it was a torrential downpour for the remainder of the afternoon. Then to top it all off there was a short, sharp earthquake that shook the former monastery. I guess if it has stood for a few hundred years it is probably reasonably well built. Surprisingly, none of the Italians seemed to register that it was an earthquake!
Daily km: 27
2saunter 