The Pineta di Ponente di Viareggio or Parco di Ponente di Viareggio or Parco Pineta di Ponente di Viareggio is the largest urban park in Viareggio, as the Pineta di Levante, which is larger, is actually a natural park.
Description
The Pineta di Ponente is crossed by roads that divide it into three sections: the “historic” quadrilateral, between via Vespucci and via Marco Polo, the Marco Polo pinewood, between the street of the same name and via Zara and finally the third section, very smaller, which extends behind Città Giardino up to the exchanger car park in via Fratti. Inside the park, especially in the main section, there are many activities.
History
The origin of the Pineta di Ponente (as well as that of the Levante) dates back to the ancient lowland woods that covered the entire Versilia coast. In 1730, at the suggestion of the engineer Bernardino Zendrini, much of the Viareggio wood was cut down in the mistaken belief that this was to eradicate the malaria that plagued the area.
This action not only turned out to be useless from this point of view, but also harmful to the crops, now exposed to the sea wind. In 1747 reforestation began, replacing the original trees with pines. Further plantings were made in 1771, 1796 and 1804.
City development in the 19th century increasingly eroded the woodlands. The portion closest to the urban nucleus assumed the role of public garden. In 1875, Viale Gino Capponi and the monumental entrance to the Pineta di Ponente were inaugurated. In the same year, the Casina della Pineta was built as a “rural” emergency site, managed by the local Confraternity of Mercy, now home to a restaurant.
Already in 1896 the existence of a tennis court in the park is documented. In 1906 the main section (between via Vespucci and via Marco Polo) reached its current boundaries.
In 1921 he came. established the corps of the Pineta Guards, housed permanently in a small barrack since 1924 (now the seat of associations).
At the beginning of the 20th century the first wooden and masonry chalets were built and, in 1930, two still active tennis clubs. Important names in international tennis played on the courts of the Pineta di Ponente di Viareggio such as Gianni Kucel, Dora Markus, Canepele, Rolando and Marcello Del Bello, Merlo, Pietrangeli, Sirola, Nastase, Trabet, Buchols, Emerson, Fraser, Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti , Paolo Bertolucci, Tonino Zugarelli.
A racecourse was located near Via Marco Polo.
In 1935 hunting was prohibited in the Inter della Pineta, while the right to temporary grazing was still granted in those years. In 1938 the Pino sul Tetto skating rink was built, as well as a new barracks (today home to the Casa delle Donne) and a large open-air theater named after Giacomo Puccini, but known as Teatro Péa (in honor of Enrico Pea). The latter structure will be demolished in 1962.
The famous Swan Lake was built in the 1950s.
