Forte dei Marmi is an Italian city with 7.749 inhabitants, under the Province of Lucca.
It is a touristic place by the Tirreno sea, whose name is due to the namesake fortress that was built in the center of the city by the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo to defend the harbor, and to the marble that were moved from the nearby Apuane Alps to the wharf, to be shipped through the sea.
Forte dei Marmi is the hometown of the princess Paola Ruffo di Calabria, born on september 11th 1937 and Queen of Belgium from 1993.
The socialite Versilia village, with its own pubs, discos and so on, became the summer meeting point of a lot of members of the national and international high finance, sports champions and showmen.
The Fortress called Fortino, in the main center, is the symbol of the city. It was built at the end of the XVIII century, and nowadays it is immersed in a modern urban context made up of a net of streets with trees which gives the city a modern and relaxing look. The building was renovated in 2004.
The interior is very interesting. On the upper floor there is the Satire and Caricature museum, one of the most important museums of its kind. On the groundfloor there are periodic exhibitions. In Garibaldi Square, just close to the fortress, there is a well which belongs to the 18th century.