Tuscany · Lucca
Stazzema
A mountain commune of seventeen hamlets in the Apuan Alps, site of the August 1944 Sant'Anna massacre and Italy's National Park of Peace.
Known for
PARCO NAZIONALE DELLA PACE
Italy's National Park of Peace, established in 2000 at Sant'Anna di Stazzema, site of the 12 August 1944 SS massacre of 560 civilians.
ANTRO DEL CORCHIA
53 kilometers of mapped tunnels in the Levigliani frazione, the largest karst cave system in Italy.
APUAN ALPS
Seventeen hamlets spread across the western Apuan slopes, the only fully mountainous commune in the Versilia administrative area.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Antonio di Padova, 13 June
Why come
Stazzema is the only entirely mountainous commune in Versilia, seventeen hamlets spread across the western slopes of the Apuan Alps, the highest point at Pania della Croce. The main village sits ; Sant'Anna di Stazzema, the most-visited frazione, sits between Monte Ornato and Monte Gabberi. On 12 August 1944 the Waffen-SS and the Italian Black Brigades killed around 560 villagers and refugees at Sant'Anna, more than a hundred of them children.
The site became the Parco Nazionale della Pace in 2000, with a museum opened in 1982 by President Sandro Pertini. The Antro del Corchia, accessed from Levigliani, runs 53 kilometers of mapped tunnels and is the largest karst system in Italy. The commune earned its Comuni Virtuosi signal for waste reduction and energy policy and its Città delle Grotte signal for the Corchia.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Stazzema’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Antro del Corchia
53 kilometers of mapped tunnels and shafts in the Levigliani frazione, the largest karst system in Italy and one of the largest in Europe.
Sant'Anna di Stazzema
Mountain frazione at 750 meters, site of the 12 August 1944 SS massacre and now the Parco Nazionale della Pace memorial complex.
Museo Storico della Resistenza
Resistance and massacre museum in Sant'Anna's former primary school, inaugurated in 1982 by Sandro Pertini.
Pania della Croce
The 1,858-meter peak that anchors the commune's eastern boundary, with hiking access from the Foce di Mosceta refuge.
Pieve di Santa Maria Assunta
Romanesque parish church in the main village, documented from the twelfth century, with a frescoed apse.
The slow-trip planner
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Living here
- Population 2,856
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy: none mapped
- Nearest high school over ~30 minutes away
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 14 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 1 h 51 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 440 m
- Population: 2,856
- Surface area: 80.08 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Stazzema
Pietrasanta
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The Versilia luxury beach built around an eighteenth-century marble-loading fort, with 99 bagni concessions and a Wednesday market that draws Milan.
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