Lunigiana
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Lunigiana is an historical region of Italy, in the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara, in Tuscany and Liguria. The borders of the region derive from the ancient diocese of Luni, which no longer exists.
Lunigiana covers an area from the Appennines to the Magra river, belonging in part to Tuscany and Liguria. It takes its name from the Luni, an Etruscan tribe of moon worshippers whose curiously appealing stele remain the symbol of this ancient land. These late pre-historic and Bronze Age stone statues have been found in large numbers in this part of Tuscany. They are the first expression of art and of religious belief of the period that inhabited Tuscany from the Bronze Age to start of the Roman Empire.
The history of Lunigiana is one of passion; of intense creativity but also ferocious battles. The nearby Gulf of Poets saw the romantic writers Shelly and Byron set the artistic world on fire and follow in the Renaissance footsteps of Dante and Michelangelo.
Castles in Lunigiana
During the Middle Ages, there were 160 castles in Lunigiana, only thirty of which have reached our times in a good state of preservation. The Historical origins of these castles date back to times when the Langobards dominated most of the Pianura Padana and when they, while seeking a coastal outlet, found in the Passo della Cisa the natural way in the Appennines:
On the other hand, when Luni (which has disappeared) was a flourishing city and harbour, Romans had already built solid defensive posts along the road which linked up Northern Lunigiana. On the traces of this Roman road the Langobards built the Via Francigena, for the control of which there was a bloody and ferocious struggle among the little feud.
The most important castles in Lunigiana, including the castle of the Piagnaro in Pontremoli, the Rocca of Villafranca and the fortified village of Filetto, were built during this period. When the Malaspina played an import part in the politics of Lunigiana, they built a great number of castles, which were used as residences and defences of territory by the several branches of the family.
Concerning this we must say that the Malaspinas followed rules which were quite different from those applied in othere Italian feuds for the succession of the heirs to the feudal power the property, the estates and the power were divided into equal parts among all sons, without a special treatment for the eldest one. That brought to the formation of tens of little feuds inside which new castles were built in occasion of every succession. So many little and picturesque castles were built in Lunigiana, but of course that caused the weakening of the power of the family generation after generation.
External links
- Tuscan Hills Traditional and stylish accommodation in Lunigiana
- Lunigiana Castles in Lunigiana
- Terre di Lunigiana Lunigiana travel guide
- Stylish properties for sale in Lunigiana Real estate in Lunigiana
- Traditional accommodation in Lunigianait:Lunigiana