Reader holiday photos: Forte dei Marmi, Italy

In a poem titled “Forte de Marmi,” D.H. Lawrence wrote,

“The evening sulks along the shore,

“The reddening sun reddens still more

“On the blatant bodies of these all-but-naked

sea-bathing city people.”

This is the Forte dei Marmi of summer, a Tuscan coast resort.

But the photo above, submitted by reader Suzanne Levonian of El Cajon, speaks of an entirely different experience, when the sun-seeking tourists have gone home and the population settles back to about 8,000. “In the winter,” Levonian writes, “only the residents are there and they are glad to have their village back to normal.”

It is the marble business that brings Levonian to this town -- “it is close to the Alpi Apuane mountains where the famous Carrara marble is quarried” -- and in winter, she notes, it is cold and sometimes snowy.

“The town center is charming with the shop windows and streets decorated for Christmas. The villagers stroll arm in arm in the evening to window shop -- the passeggiata -- and then stop at a café for a cappuccino and a sweet. The produce markets are full of winter sausages, mushrooms, chestnuts, but also fresh fruit arranged beautifully in baskets in front of the shops. And the bakeries have treats that are special at Christmas -- the almond-flavored panettone cake is the favorite...

“It is just lovely to be there with the villagers and they are quite surprised to see Americans at that time of year.”

Another perk of off-season travel and another fine reason to travel during the holidays.

If you have a holiday photo you’d like to share, please email it to travel@latimes.com with the words HOLIDAY PHOTO in the subject line. Please include your name and city of residence. Photographers agree that The Times may reproduce their photos in any format.