The patron saint of Forte dei Marmi is Saint Hermes the Martyr, celebrated on 28 August: on the evening of the 27th, by tradition, a propitiatory bonfire is lit in the central Piazza Garibaldi, followed the next day by a large fair and, late in the evening, a fireworks display on the pier. In 2015 the display was directed by the winner of that year's World Pyro Designer Championship, held right in Forte dei Marmi.
The town owes its origin to the marble of the nearby Apuan quarries: in 1515 the marble-bearing lands of Versilia were granted to the Medici family, who opened new quarries and had a road built to carry the blocks to the coast, where a pier was erected for loading them onto ships. The loading pier, 300 metres from the shore, was used for centuries to ship blocks bound for all over the world, before becoming the tourist attraction and mooring point it is today. Forte dei Marmi's beach, made of very fine golden sand, and its clear waters far offshore have made it one of Versilia's most renowned seaside resorts.
