Discover countryside hotels and rural retreats in Versilia, Italy

Versilia is named after its river, but there's no doubt that this destination has the sea at its heart. Celebrities have been lured to its beaches since Shelley and Byron first donned bathing suits and dipped their toes in Tuscan waters. There's a brashness to some seaside resorts, but refreshingly, Versilia seems unaware of its own beauty: though the landscape makes for an intoxicating natural cocktail – the coast is a playboy's playground – a relaxed spirit prevails. Locals travel everywhere by bike (canny tourists do too), and the coastal glitz is tempered by generous doses of culture, history and hospitality.