Montecatini Terme e dintorni
Hotel Innocenti is located in the center of Montecatini Terme, a beautiful spa town surrounded by nature and famous for the healting properties of its water. Situated in the heart of Tuscany, a region renowned worlwide for its cities of art, landscape and noble culinary tradition, it is an ideal starting point for excursions along paved or dirt roads. From here you can easily reach the towns of Lucca, Pistoia and Vinci, or going into the woods and ancient villages of Valdinievole.
Montecatini Alto
Montecatini Alto (Montecatini Upper Town), a characteristic medieval village, abounding in historical events culture and illustrious personages, is one of the most ancient inhabited centrs in the Valdinievole. For its strategic higly dominant position over the Val di Nievole, the village was the centre of many sour battles between Lucca and Florence for the control of the area. His quaint square, fringed by various small workshops and cafès, is dominated by the Palace of Podestà, the Cappellina di Piazza and the Theatre of Risorti. Montecatini Alto is accessible in 10 minutes by the funicular railway,constructed in 1898, that is the oldest funicular in the word with original carriages.
Collodi (a 11 Km)
It is the town of Pinocchio. Here you can find the Pinocchio Theme Park, a fairy place where the children can discover the story of the most famous wooden puppet in the world, walking through the locations of the novel: from Geppetto’s workshop to the Land of Toys, from the Blue Fairy’s Home to the Whale’s belly.
Near the Park rises Villa Garzoni, that is famous for the Renaissance Garden, full of climbs, statues and water play. Inside the garden there is the butterfly house, a splendid greenhouse building of stone and crystal, housing a lush tropical garden with nearly a thousand butterflies from alla over the world.
Sito web del Parco di Pinocchio a Collodi.
Vinci (a 24 km)
It is the birthplace of Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci. The “Genius” well known for such masterpieces like Monna Lisa and l’Ultima Cena (The Last Supper). He was also one of the best scientific mind of this time. His scientific theories were based on careful abservation and precise documentation. If his theories had been published, they would have revolutionized the science of the 16th century. In the ancient, small town, near the birth home of the Genius, there is the museum, in which is exposed a complete collection of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines, in addittion to many manuscripts, original plans and digital reconstructions.
Viareggio (a 54 km)
Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi are the most important seaside resorts in Versilia. With more than one hundred beach resorts in a few kilometers, Viareggio offers a wide choice for relaxation and amusement. Along the promenade, known as “Passeggiata a mare”, several are pubs, bars, shops, cinemas and restaurants available to tourists during all the year. From its port, in the summer, you can take daily boat trips to the Cinque Terre, Portovenere, Lerici, the Bay of Poets and the isle of Elba. Viareggio is also famous for the Carnival, with its masked parades characterized by allegorical floats in Papier Maché.
Lucca (a 30 km)
Lucca is a medieval town, entirely surrounded by 16th century walls, on which citizen and visitors love to walk in the shade of towering plane and chestnut trees. Under the walls, the tortuous streets of the town are fringed by workshops and old taverns, while the large avenues of the centertown are rich of luxury shops and ninetenth century cafès. Beside the Romanesque Cathedral of San Martino in the magnificent Duomo Square, in Lucca you must visit Palazzo Guinigi (Guinici Palace), with his tower and the terrace garden.
In October in Lucca there is Lucca Comics & Games, the most important exhibition in Italy of Comics and role-playing games, where you may give vent to the imagination in all its form and manifestations.
Firenze (a 44 km)
Firenze, known as the “Jewel of Renaissance”, is a place to visit at least once in your life. City of Medici, patrons of artists and writers, homeland of Dante and Boccaccio, like an immense museum, it encloses the masterpieces of Michelangelo, Donatello, Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Giotto and Botticelli. In the historic center, the famous monuments and building are near each other: the Brunelleschi’s Dome, with Baptistery and The Giotto Tower, the Signoria Square, dominated by Palazzo vecchio, the Uffizi Museum, the Ponte Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti and the Accademia Gallery, where you can admire the most famous statue in the world, the Michelangelo’s David.
Sito ufficiale Firenze.
Pisa (a 52 km)
The leaning Tower of Pisa, which rises in Piazza dei Miracoli near The Cathedral and Baptistery, perhaps is the most famous monument in Italy. But the city of Pisa is much more than this. Walking around Pisa you will love the medieval streets of Borgo Stretto, with the smell of foods by the old taverns near to the walls, and you will admire the ancient building along the Arno river, from Piazza Cavalieri to the Church of Santa Maria della Spina.
Siena (a 111 km)
Siena is situated 322 mt above the sea level, in the heart of Tuscany. It has kept its typical medieval appearance untouched, with narrow alleys and noble palaces, surrounded by a beautiful hill landscape. Siena is an ancient medieval town, that was born on three hills and was enclosed by walls. Still today, it welcomes its visitors with this motto, written on the Camollia Door: “Cor Magi tibi Seni pandit” (Siena opens its heart to you, even more than its door).The undisputed symbol of the town is the tower Torre del Mangia, in the renowed Piazza del Campo, that has been the theatre of the Palio for many centuries.The identity of the Sienese province is composed of no less than thirtysix villages and eight areas of touristic interest. The chief town is Siena, a casket of rare and untouched art, which has succeded in maintaining a perfect harmony between its reality as a city and the surrounding countryside.
