Together, Seravezza and Stazzema make up the ‘Alta Versilia,’ or ‘high Versilia,’ because they are the two cities which lie in the highest above sea level in steep hills of the Alpi Apuane mountain range while remaining in the province of Versilia. Seravazza sits at the foot of the mountain range and acts as a ‘portal city’ to the Parco Regionale delle Apuane (the Regional Park of the Apuane) while Stazzema is at the highest altitude in the region.
Servezza contains within its canaverous hills a huge supply of beautiful, shockingly white marble as well as other natural resources like iron. Its history includes a period of time that Michelangelo actually lived on the land and carved from the precious stone extracted from its many marble caves. It’s a shame that the church he helped create was subsequently destroyed during WWII, but other beautiful buildings still remain including the Palazzo Mediceo- which was commissioned by Cosimo I of the Medici family in a location optimal for controlling the extraction from his family’s marble caves.
Stazzema has a history of being the one of wealthiest cities in Versilia even if it is the smallest. Just as Servezza, it remained under the control of the aristocratic Medici family beginning sometime during the 15th century. With their vast family fortune they constructed fine buildings in places that could also work for them. Where great revenue came from the extraction of marble and iron in Servazza, they found that Stazzema had a plentiful supply of gold that could be rendered from its mountainous base. There is no doubt that the Medici’s, who made their original fortune trading in the Orient, became much wealthier as a result.
