Discover Pescia: Culture, Nature and Family Experiences

Pescia combines a distinctive historic townscape with paper-making history, gardens, family experiences and designated easy routes. The Pescia River divides the historic urban fabric into a religious area around the cathedral and a civic area around the town hall.

Holiday apartment in Pescia between urban history and paper culture

The present form of the Duomo di Pescia dates back to its complete reconstruction in 1684. The Gipsoteca Libero Andreotti is located in the Palagio, the former seat of the podestà; its first structural core dates back to the 13th century. At the Museo della Carta di Pescia in Pietrabuona, visitors can learn about the production of paper from rags. The museum is housed in the 18th-century Cartiera Le Carte. A visit to the Museo della Carta di Pescia also includes the Cartiera Le Carte and the Sala Filigrane of the Archivio Storico Magnani.

The Giardino degli Agrumi di Pescia also combines informative discovery with regional character. Visitors can taste citrus marmalades there and are accompanied on their tour by an expert from the business. Those choosing a holiday apartment in Pescia can thus focus their stay on a combination of urban history, paper production and culinary impressions.

Pinocchio, art and nature for families

In Collodi, Pescia, the Parco di Pinocchio is designed as a themed children's park. Its fairytale trail combines art with nature. In the Paese dei Balocchi area, there are 21 bronze sculptures by Pietro Consagra; they depict characters, situations and settings from the fairy tale. The Percorso Monumentale is considered Italy's first art park.

The Laboratorio delle Parole e delle Figure hosts exhibitions on illustration for children and educational workshops. The Museo Interattivo di Pinocchio features games inspired by the puppet's adventures. The Casa delle Farfalle in Collodi is a covered tropical garden where hundreds of butterflies from equatorial and tropical regions fly freely among plants, flowers and fruit.

For younger visitors, the Parco di Pinocchio offers two adventure courses with suspension bridges, balance sections, logs, boards and a spectacular zip line over the river.

Gardens and trails around Pescia

The garden of Villa Garzoni is laid out in terraces along a central axis of symmetry. Paths lead to a bamboo grove and a maze. For active days, Pescia offers several designated routes: the Sentiero Valleriana 49A is designated as an easy trekking route, as is the Sentiero Valleriana 55 in Pietrabuona. The Sentiero della Bonifica Lungo Pescia is designated as an easy mountain bike route.

In the Svizzera Pesciatina, a hiking trail connects the ten Castella. It begins in Pietrabuona, follows the Pescia River and takes around six hours. The different route details make it easier to compare a shorter trekking loop, a mountain bike route and a longer hike. The Via della Fiaba begins and ends in the town centre of Pescia and runs along a medieval road connecting Pescia and Collodi.

The Palio degli Arcieri in Pescia is part of the cultural calendar. It takes place every year on 1 September in honour of the town's patron saint, Santa Dorotea.

Discover more places

More local pages about Pescia: Monte A Pescia, Pietrabuona, Vellano, Collodi, Fibbialla, Aramo, Castelvecchio, San Quirico, Sorana.

For the higher-level travel overview: Pistoia.