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Historic Center of Massa – Ducal Palace of Massa loop from Carrara-Avenza

Routes

Bike touring routes & trails

Historic Center of Massa – Ducal Palace of Massa loop from Carrara-Avenza

Hard

4.4

(9)

120

riders

Historic Center of Massa – Ducal Palace of Massa loop from Carrara-Avenza

02:58

41.7km

790m

Cycling

Hard bike ride. Very good fitness required. Mostly paved surfaces. Suitable for all skill levels. The starting point of the route is accessible with public transport.

Last updated: April 7, 2026

Waypoints

Start point

Train Station

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620 m

Castruccio Tower

Highlight • Historical Site

The Torre di Castruccio is a military fortress located in Via Gino Menconi in Avenza, in the province of Massa-Carrara, near the Carrione River and Via Francigena. It is considered one of the main attractions of the city of Carrara.
The tower has a cylindrical shape, with a base slightly wider than the upper part. Inside the tower is visible a tunnel that once connected the fortress with the nearby Piazza Carlo Finelli. In 2013, graffiti depicting symbols of Christ's passion were discovered, made by prisoners in the tower between the 16th and 18th centuries. In 2015, two more passages were discovered connecting the tower to the banks of the Carrione River and the center of the old town.
After the unification of Italy, the fortress was sold by the Italian state to private owners to be used as a quarry, and in 1883 only the intervention of the German historian Theodor Momsen saved it from total destruction. Before the 'scientific dismantling' it consisted of three large round towers and one square one.

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640 m

San Pietro Apostolo

Highlight • Religious Site

Church of San Pietro, it has only a few traces of Gothic style due to the many transformations that have taken place over time. Thanks to St. Anthony, the church has been a fixed point of reference for pilgrims passing through on the Via Romea. The first mention dates back to 1187. On the façade there is a marble bas-relief depicting the "Moon" of Luni, a coat of arms that was adopted in ancient times as an identifying sign of the community of Avenza. Inside you can admire the Carrara marble sculptures of P. Aprile and G. De Rossi da Fiesole and a wooden crucifix considered miraculous. It is the oldest church in Carrara after the Duomo.

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9.81 km

Historic Center of Massa

Highlight • Historical Site

Massa, the "city of marble" preserves the memory of a glorious era…
You see this everywhere in the old city: fountains, curbs, house sills, window frames are made of white marble.

Marble is literally and figuratively the cornerstone of the community here. Almost everyone here lives from the proceeds of white gold. You see marble everywhere in Italy and almost all of that marble comes from the quarries of Massa.

For centuries, artists and sculptors managed to find their perfect blocks here. Michelangelo was a regular in this area. He personally came to select 'his' marble blocks.
Know that in this region around Massa - Carrara there are about 300 marble quarries, most of which are still being exploded.

We start our discovery in the religious heart of the city. Like accomplished seminarians, we stride past 18th-century palazzi and white-paved marble squares. Triggered by history, we hoped to reach our climax at Castello Malaspina. Unfortunately, due to closure, we return to square one hungry...

Chiesa di San Sebastiano is certainly worth mentioning. Contemporary murals tell Biblical stories and can be understood in all languages.
Spiritually satisfied and dazzled by splendor and splendor, our Mass story ends in the Chiesa di San Sebastiano.

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10.7 km

Ducal Palace of Massa

Highlight • Historical Site

The Palazzo Ducale, with its size (82 m. in Piazza Aranci) and opulence, is certainly the most imposing and perhaps the most beautiful monument of Massa. It stems from the will of Prince Alberico I Cybo-Malaspina to give his small state a decorum and an image to figure well in the concert of refined principalities of the Italian '500. Massa Cybea was refounded and walled in 1547, Alberico transformed the old house he owned on the plain in the village of Bagnara into a palace to transfer the residence of the court from the too austere and medieval Malaspina castle . corner up to the ninth window of the facade (1567-1570).

Knowing more? Click through to provincia.ms.it/amministrazione-provinciale/contatti/sedi/palazzo-ducale-massa

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13.4 km