Overview
From the Capannina opened in 1929 to the present day, the Forte's contemporary history has been traced by nightclubs, successful historical discographies (Édith Piaf, Ray Charles, Peppino di Capri, Gloria Gaynor) and cultural festivals, first and foremost the Versiliana, which is based in the adjoining Pietrasanta. Sights to be seen here include mostly pine forests, hotels, nightclubs, and bathing areas for even the youngest children with the proverbial rubber duck – because the sandy beach slopes down slowly, and has you walking for some time before your toes can no longer touch the bottom – although this does not make Forte dei Marmi any less special.
If we wish to be pedantic tourists always in pursuit of historical culture, the places not to be missed are the Fort itself, here colloquially " il Fortino" – built in 1778 by the Grand Duke of Tuscany Pietro Leopold I of Lorraine in the likeness of those at Marina di Bibbona and Marina di Castagneto, to protect the embarkation of Apuan marble and promote settlement in the area – and the Pontile that juts out into the sea from the town centre for something like three hundred metres, perhaps constituting the Fort's most definitive feature. A stroll through it means embracing the marble-beach-life project offered by the area.
