Cycle Route Ciclovia Tirrenica

Tu-Su 10:00-13:00, 17:00-20:00

Lerici (Lérze in der ligurischen Sprache) ist eine ligurische Gemeinde mit 10.646 Einwohnern.

Sehenswürdigkeiten

Alter Ortskern mit einem Netz von schmalen Treppengassen.

Auf der Burg von Lerici (erbaut circa 1100 bis 1550) befindet sich neben der imposanten Festung mit dem fünfeckigen Turm auch die Kapelle Sant'Anastasia aus dem 13. Jahrhundert. Die Festung beherbergt heute ein paläontologisches Museum („Museo Geopaleontologico“).

In der Burg von San Terenzo (Ortsteil von Lerici) ist ein Museum untergebracht, das dem Ehepaar Shelley gewidmet ist.

Die Pfarrkirche von San Francesco in Lerici stammt aus dem 12. Jahrhundert. Viele der Kunstwerke in der Kirche sind Werke der Genueser Schule, die Madonna mit dem Kind im nahen Oratorium von San Bernardino stammt von Domenico Fiasella. 

Sarzana (Italian pronunciation: [sarˈdzaːna]) is a town and comune in the Province of La Spezia, of Liguria. In 2010 it had a population of 21,978.

Main sights

• The noteworthy cathedral of white marble in the Gothic style, dating from 1355, was completed in 1474. It contains two elaborately-sculptured altars of the latter period.
• The former citadel, built by the Pisans, was demolished and re-erected by Lorenzo de' Medici.
• The Castle on the hill of Sarzanello was built or enlarged by the condottiero Castruccio Castracani. It is located on the site of a fortress existing here from as early as the reign of emperor Otto I, and was later a residence of the bishops of Luni.
• Pieve of Sant'Andrea, dating to the 10th-11th centuries. It was later remade, the last time in 1579, and has not a 16th-century portal. In the interior has marble 14th-15th centuries marble sculptures, a Vocation of Saints by Domenico Fiasella and a dodecagonal baptismal font.
• Church of San Francesco, documented from 1238 and, according to the tradition, founded by St. Francis of Assisi himself. In the interior, on the Latin cross plan, is the funerary monument of Castruccio Castracani's son, by Giovanni di Balduccio (1328) and the tomb of bishop Bernabò Malaspina, as well as a frescoed lunette attributed to Priamo della Quercia.
• The Palazzo del Capitano was designed by Giuliano da Maiano (1472), but is now entirely altered.

Parma (Emilian: Pärma) is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its prosciutto, cheese, architecture and surrounding countryside. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world. Parma is divided into two parts by the little stream with the same name. Parma's Etruscan name was adapted by Romans to describe the round shield called Parma.

Main sights

Churches

• The Romanesque Parma Cathedral houses both 12th-century sculpture by Benedetto Antelami and a 16th-century fresco masterpiece by Antonio da Correggio.
• The Baptistery, adjacent to the cathedral was begun in 1196 by Antelami.
• The abbey church of Saint John the Evangelist (San Giovanni Evangelista), was originally constructed in the 10th century behind the Cathedral's apse, but had to be rebuilt in 1498 and 1510 after a fire. It has a late Mannerist façade and a belltower designed by Simone Moschino, and retains its Latin cross plan, a nave and two aisles. In 1520–1522, Correggio frescoed the dome with the Vision of St. John the Evangelist, a highly influential fresco which heralded illustionistic perspective in the decoration of church ceilings.Bernardo Falconi designed a putto in the high altar. Also the cloisters and the ancient Benedictine grocery are noteworthy. The library has books from the 15th and 16th centuries.
• Sanctuary of Santa Maria della Steccata.
• The Benedictine Monastery of San Paolo, founded in the 11th century. It houses precious frescoes by Correggio, in the so-called Camera di San Paolo (1519–1520), and Alessandro Araldi.
• The Gothic church of San Francesco del Prato (13th century). From Napoleonic era to 1990s it was the city's jail, for which the 16 windows in the façade were opened. The originalrose windows (1461) has 16 rays, which, in the medieval tradition, represented the house of God. The Oratory of the Concezione houses frescoes by Michelangelo Anselmi and Francesco Rondani. The altarpiece by Girolamo Mazzola Bedoli is now in the National Gallery of Parma.
• Church of Santa Croce, dating to the early 12th century. The original edifice, in Romanesque style, had a nave and two aisles with a semicircular apse. This was renovated first in 1415 and again in 1635–1666, with the heightening of the aisles and nave, the addition of a bresbytery, a dome and of the chapel of St. Joseph. The frescoes in the nave (byGiovanni Maria Conti della Camera, Francesco Reti andAntonio Lombardi) date to this period.
• Church of San Sepolcro, built in 1275 over a pre-existing religious edifice. The church was largely renovated in 1506, 1603 and 1701, when the side on the Via Emilia was remade in Neoclassicist style. The church has a nave with side chapels. The Baroque bell tower was built in 1616, the cups being finished in 1753. Annexed is the former monastery of the Rrgular Canons of the Lateran, dating to 1493–1495.
• Church of Santa Maria del Quartiere (1604–1619), characterized by a usual hexagonal plan. The cupola is decorated with frescoes by Pier Antonio Bernabei and his pupils.

Palaces

• The Palazzo della Pilotta (1583). It houses the Academy of Fine Arts with artists of the School of Parma, the Palatine Library, the National Gallery, the Archaeological Museum, the Bodoni Museum and the Farnese Theatre.
• The Ducal Palace, built from 1561 for Duke Ottavio Farneseon a design by Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola. Built on the former Sforza castle area, it was enlarged in the 17th–18th centuries. It includes the Palazzo Eucherio Sanvitale, with interesting decorations dating from the 16th centuries and attributed to Gianfrancesco d'Agrate, and a fresco by Parmigianino. Annexed is the Ducal Park also by Vignola. It was turned into a French-style garden in 1749.
• The Palazzo del Comune, built in 1627.
• The Palazzo del Governatore ("Governor's Palace"), dating from the 13th century.
• The Bishop's Palace (1055).
• Ospedale Vecchio ("Old Hospital"), created in 1250 and later renovated in Renaissance times. It is now home to the State Archives and to the Communal Library.

Other

• The Teatro Farnese was constructed in 1618–1619 by Giovan Battista Aleotti, totally in wood. It was commissioned by Duke Ranuccio I for the visit ofCosimo I de' Medici.
• The Cittadella, a large fortress erected in the 16th century by order of Duke Alessandro Farnese, close to the old walls.
• The Pons Lapidis (also known as Roman Bridge or Theoderic's Bridge), a Roman structure in stone dating from Augustus reign.
• The Orto Botanico di Parma is a botanical garden maintained by the University of Parma.
• The Teatro Regio ("Royal Theatre"), built in 1821–1829 by Nicola Bettoli. It has a Neo-Classical façade and a porch with double window order. It is the city's opera house.
• The Auditorium Niccolò Paganini, designed by Renzo Piano.
• The Museum House of Arturo Toscanini, where the famous musician was born.
• Museo Lombardi. It exhibits a prestigious collection of art and historical items regarding Maria Luigia ofHabsburg and her first husbandNapoleon Bonaparte; important works and documents concerning the Duchy of Parma in the 18th and 19th centuries are also kept by the Museum.