la Lunigiana

Lunigiana, from the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines to the sea, is a land to travel, discover and enjoy if you want to live a quality holiday in close contact with nature. Along the Via Francigena, which was for centuries one of the most ancient routes (mentioned for the first time in 994 by the archbishop of Canterbury Sigerico) walked by pilgrims, merchants and armies to reach Rome. There are several traces of this passage with castles, parish churches and walled villages which characterize still today this intact, natural and almost impregnable landscape. Castles and ancient castles in ruins, parish churches and Romanesque churches, medieval villages and aristocratic buildings follow one another all over Lunigiana between history and hospitality, arousing strong emotions. Summer and winter sporting facilities, hydrotherapy, walking tours and geology of caves excursions. Mixed with folklore and local traditions are the elements that enriching the tourist experience present in this piece of land close to the mountains and to the see, between Cinque Terre in Liguria and the art cities in Tuscany, surrounded by an intact and unspoilt nature. A sunlit land of chestnut and oak covered hills, an area of breath taking natural beauty.
(www.terredilunigiana.com)

Fivizzano

Fivizzano is the widest village of Lunigiana. It extends from the Appenines to the Apuan Alps. The numerous valleys, of the torrents Rosaro, Mommio and Lucido meet all the course of the Aulella. In the zone it is possible to admire great landscapes, from hills to mountains with a mild climate.
Considered the Florence of Lunigiana, Fivizzano has always been an important center. Castles, churches and noble palaces show it. Fivizzano gave itself to the Medici family in the XV century and remained in their possession until the come of the Lorena. The walls of Fivizzano were erected for order of Cosimo de’ Medici in 1540, while the baroque font of the main square was constructed from Cosimo III in 1683. Beyond the walls, the village of the Verrucola where the castle of the Verrucola lies, erected from Spinetta Malaspina the Great. Fivizzano gave birth to Jacopo from Fivizzano, one of the first printer.
Every summer in July, the “Disfida degli arceri di terra e di corte” fill with people the medieval village. Nearby, we can visit the Romanesque churc of Saint Paul of Vendaso, the village of Soliera with the sanctuary of the Madonna of the Necks, the villages of Gragnola with the castle and Vinca. Moreover, the Botanical Garden of the Frignoli and the village of Sassalbo.

Pontremoli

Pontremoli: northern gate of Lunigiana and a typical medieval town, was developed by the union of many houses around its castle. The Piagnaro Castle is situated on the top of a hill above the Cisa main road. It has recently been totally restored and hosts the Museum of the Statue Stele. The castle and the characteristic houses of the town are positioned in such a way that they seem to defend the historical centre, which is closed off on the north side by Porta Parma and on the south side by the confluence of the two rivers Magra and Verde. The borough hosts numerous monuments such as the Cathedral of S. Maria del Popolo (seventeenth century) with its baroque interior, the bell-tower Campanone, the tower of the old city walls which devided Guelphs and Ghibellines, the Church of S. Colombano and the Church of S. Pietro with its Labyrinth of the Pilgrim sculpture, the Church of SS. Annunziata, built in 1471. The Caveau del Teatro is at the centre of this small pearl of Lunigiana, facing the baroque work-of-art of the Church of Nostra Donna and of the Teatro della Rosa, one of the first theatres in Italy recently restored and full of rich baroque interiors. The town of Pontremoli hosts the Bancarella Prize, a famous literary prize held once a year on the third Sunday of July.

Filattiera

Filattiera: ancient Ligurian-Apuane settlement; medieval capital of the Malaspina dello Spino Fiorito. To visit: Church of S. Giorgio with Leodgar’s gravestone and medieval defence tower of the fifteenth century castle. At the foot of the village, the Parish Church of Sorano (dating from the eighth to the tenth century) important example of Romanesque Art. In the outskirts: Ponticello, small and dainty, a jewel in its own right; Caprio, interesting hamlet with ruins of tower-houses.

Bagnone

Bagnone: this village is characterized by a castle, built on the top of a hill, and by its houses, built at the foot of the hill. To visit: the Marquis’s castle with cylindrical tower (fourteenth century), frequent in many castles of Lunigiana. In the outskirts: hamlet and the castle of Castiglione del Terziere (for information contact +39 0187 429010 ), (eleventh century); Jera, small village in the mountains that offers wonderful views. Villafranca in Lunigiana, hamlet with shop signs and structures of the ancient workshops. To visit: the Church of S. Nicolò (twelfth century); Ethnographical Museum of Lunigiana which hosts treasures of the rural local culture (for information +39 0187 439417 ). In the outskirts: Filetto, enclosed hamlet of Byzantine origin which maintains a quadrangular aspect of the Roman “Castrum”; Malgrate: medieval hamlet with Malaspinian castle (dating from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century) dominated by a cylindrical tower and protected by a walled enclosure.

Mulazzo

Mulazzo: hamlet of Byzantine origin which became the capital of the Malaspina dello Spino Secco. To visit: octagonal tower, known as “The Tower of Dante” (where Dante Alighieri was once hosted by the Malaspina family), ruins of the Malaspinian castle (dating from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century), imposing arcades of the ancient aqueduct (fifteenth century); Alessandro Malaspina Research Centre, a sixteenth century navigator (for information contact +39 0187 439712 ). On the outskirts: on the road to Gavedo, home of a sixteenth century castle, stands the ancient Romanic Church of S. Martino (eighth century); Montereggio, another picturesque and characteristic village, is plunged in the chestnut woods and is country-home of the errant booksellers; finally the medieval Monastery of the “Madonna del Monte” and its famous fourteenth century icon of Mary.

Aulla

Aulla: town dominated by the Brunella fortress (XV-XVI century), now seat of the Museum of Lunigiana Natural History (phone 0187 409077 ). In the surrounding area: the village of Bibola with its winding structure and with the ruins of an imposing castle (XII-XIII), and the walled medieval village Caprigliola with the cylindrical Tower (XII century).

Fosdinovo

Fosdinovo: it is surrounded by the walls of the village, where sea and mountains seem very close to each other, and is dominated by the Malaspina castle (XIV-XVII). To visit: the church of S. Remigio (1367) with its panoramic location. In the surrounding area: Caniparola and the Malaspina villa, Luni, Sarzana and Cinque Terre.

Surroundings

Le Cinque terre

They form one of the most unspoilt and largest Mediterranean areas in Liguria. The land is characterized by a wild and wonderful nature, still preserved as in the past. If you come to Cinque Terre, you will visit five villages between land and sea, located on sheer cliffs and surrounded by green hills, where inhabitants are still doing their best to face the difficulties presented by this territory. Their efforts are rewarded through excellent wines and products not to miss.

Pisa

The city of Pisa contains priceless treasures that make it one of the most important Italian cities of art. The core of this prized offering of art and architecture is the Piazza dei Miracoli, from which appears the famous Leaning Tower.

Carrara

Facing the sea on the western slopes of the Apuane Alps, Carrara has long been famous for its white marble which has been quarried there since the Roman times and was used by Michelangelo in his renowned Statue of David. The marble caves are well worth a visit and each May there is the International Marble Exhibit hosted in Marina di Carrara, the port area developed for the exportation of marble.

Plus only 2,5 hour from Firenze , 1 hour from medieval town of Lucca