Camaiore is the largest town of the Versilia area, set in a big basin at the foot of the first spurs of the Apuan Alps. Of Roman origins, the ancient “Campus Maior” increased its power thanks to the proximity to the via Francigena during the Middle Age and in the XIV century it was fortified in order to defend the population.
The Badia of San Pietro is the most important religious monument of Camaiore, founded in the VIII century by the Benedectine monks; the complex consists of church, bell tower, arc, cemetery and nunnery, everything encircled by walls. The Badia has a simple but imposing, typical architecture of Romanesque style and Benedictine conception. The inside, shaped into three aisles, possesses a rare organ “bachiano” form the 1600’s.
The Pieve of Santi Giovanni and Stefano was realised in the XII century in Romanesque style, with a bell tower, characterised by two lancet windows, and a beautifuli baptismal font made from a III century Roman sarcophagus.
We also mention the the Church of Immacolata Concezione and San Lazzaro (1610) and Villa Borbone delle Pianore, built betwee the XVIII and the XX century.