Camaiore

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Camaiore
Comune
Comune di Camaiore
Fountain on the main square
Coat of arms
Location of Camaiore
UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code	55041, 55043, 55068, 55040
Dialing code	0584
Patron saint	Santissimo Nome di Gesù (Holy name of Jesus)
Saint day	June 1
Website	Official website

Camaiore is a city and comune of 32,513 inhabitants within the province of Lucca, Tuscany, central-western Italy. It stretches from the Apuan Alps to the east, to the plains and the coast of Versilia to the west.

History

Camaiore has Roman origins, as it was the site of one of the largest Roman encampments near the city of Lucca and an important station along the Via Cassia. From this we find the origins of the name "Campus Maior" (Campo Maggiore).

In the

In 1226, the Luccans destroyed the remote hill fortress of Montecastrese, situated above Camaiore on the slopes of Mount Prana, and the survivors of this battle migrated down to the valley in Camaiore as it offered more protection against future city-state attacks.^[3]

While Camaiore has Roman origins, and it was heavily contested between the competitive city-states of Lucca and Pisa, it remained largely uninhabited until the 1800s due to its particularly marshy grounds. Eventually, many of the marshes in the area were drained, allowing for growth and development to take place in Camaiore. First, the main streets were constructed, and then several hotels were built for tourists that still come to the area today.^[4]

Geography

Camaiore is the largest municipality in

In Camaiore, one of the highlights of the year is the feast of Corpus Domini, locals come out to make and view brightly colored sawdust carpets, and to participate in the religious procession whose route they are built to decorate. The carpets, which use new designs each year, are built on the Saturday night before the feast, often late into the night, and last only until the end of the Corpus Domini procession the following morning. Running the length of the old city, they serve as an adornment for Sunday morning's Eucharistic procession, a manifestation of civic pride, and a catechetical device. The feast of Corpus Domini, the Body of the Lord, also known as Corpus Christi in many parts of the world, is an occasion for devotion to the belief in the real presence of Christ in the consecrated host. The origins of the feast are in Liège, Belgium, in the 13th century. It is held in the last days of May or the first days of June, depending on the date of Easter that year.^[5]

Main sights

• round arches
  supported by square piers.
• rural church documented from the 9th century. The current building (12th century) has a 17th-century portal, and houses a baptismal font based on a 2nd-3rd century Roman sarcophagus, and a 15th-century triptych by Battista da Pisa, also known as Battista di Gerio
  .
• Lido de Camaiore, a beach resort for the town just north of Viareggio on the Mediterranean Coast. The central focus of this touristic area is the Pontile Bellavista Vittoria, which is a pier that offers panoramic views of the ocean.[6]
• Santa Maria Assunta: Built in 13th century, in 1515 became Collegiate church
• Church of Immacolata Concezione e San Lazzaro
• Villa Borbone delle Pianore

Sport

Born, raised and still residing in Camaiore, is the Under 23 Road Cycling champion, Francesco Chicchi, who is currently racing for the professional team of Liquigas.

Lido di Camaiore, has been repeatedly a stage finish of the Giro d'Italia

• 1997 (May 28): Stage 11, won by Gabriele Missaglia
  .
• 2002 (May 19): Stage 7, won by Rik Verbrugghe.
• 2007 (May 21): Stage9, won by Danilo Napolitano
  .

Notable people

• Giorgio Gaber, singer, composer, actor and playwright
• Francesco Gasparini, Baroque composer and teacher
• Ermenegildo Pistelli, papyrologist, palaeographer, philologist and presbyter
• Giovanni Marracci, baroque painter
• Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma (1889–1977), Carlist leader
• Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of Austria
• Harry Jackson, Artist, Sculptor
• Andrea Larini, racing driver
• Nicola Larini, racing driver

Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Italy

Camaiore is

twinned

with the following towns:

• Rovinj, Croatia, since 1990
• Überherrn, Germany, since 2000
• L'Hôpital, France, since 2000
• Castel di Casio, Italy, since 2008
• Carpentras, France, since 2009
• Cody, Wyoming, USA, since 2017

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camaiore.

• Alpi Apuane
• Versilia
• Via Francigena

References

1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
3. ^ Bonuccelli in the World
4. ^ "Lido di Camaiore, Town in Tuscany, Italy". www.summerinitaly.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.
5. ^ Thomas M Landy, "Corpus Domini in Camaiore", Catholics & Cultures updated July 21, 2016
6. ^ "Lido di Camaiore, Town in Tuscany, Italy". www.summerinitaly.com. Retrieved 2021-04-23.