Forte dei Marmi

Forte dei Marmi is a playground for wealthy Italians and equally well-heeled visitors. Its wide, sandy beaches—strands are 6 km (4 miles) long—have the Alpi Apuane as a dramatic backdrop. The town was, from Roman times, the port for marble quarried in Carrara. In the 1920s the Agnelli family (of Fiat fame) began summering here, and other tycoons followed suit. It remains the East Hampton of Italy; everyone seems to be dripping in gold, and prices are very high. In winter the town's population is about 7,000; in summer, it swells to about 150,000, most of those folks staying in their own private villas.