Viale Rimembranza, 4, Aulla

tel: +39 353 383 1233
email: museo@comune.aulla.ms.it
Website: www.istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it

The Brunella Fortress is an imposing Renaissance fortification located at the confluence of the Magra River and the Aulella stream, in a commanding position on a high, dark rocky spur overlooking the historic center of Aulla and enabling it to control all the main roads and Apennine passes. Its origins are still shrouded in mystery: its patrons include names of illustrious figures of the time, such as Adamo Centurione and Giovanni dalle Bande Nere. In the early 20th century Brunella was renovated by the English Waterfield family, which used it as a luxurious residence. In 1977 it was purchased by the state and earmarked by the City of Aulla to house the Lunigiana Museum of Natural History.

Via del Borgo, 1 Castiglione del Terziere (MS)

tel: +39 347 000 4486
mail: castellodelterziere@gmail.com
web: www.castellodicastiglionedelterziere.it

The origins of the castle of Castiglione del Terziere date back to the early Middle Ages, as evidenced by certain surviving wall structures, which indicate a date before the 11th century. In ancient times it was called Castiglione dei Corbellari, after the lords who had dominion over a territory including Virgoletta, called Verrucula Corbellariorum. Castiglione assumed the attribute 'del Terziere,' or 'del Tertiero,' from 1275, for being included in the 'pars tertiaria,' or 'third part,' of the feudal territories of Alberto Malaspina of Filattiera, a branch of the Spino Fiorito.

By the end of the 1960s, the castle and village were in an extremely precarious static situation. The castle, in particular, was practically a ruin threatening ruin. Substantial sub-foundation works first ensured its stability, and others, of dismantling and restitution, implemented in total and absolute respect for architectural truth, and with scientific systems, saved it. Immediately after that, the ideological - spiritual restoration was carried out, and that is to furnish the castle as it would have been if it had been, and that is to say, the castle was equipped with what could serve to 'breathe', and thus to imagine and understand, that culture that had been 'breathed', and understood, for centuries, through the presence of so many jurists, magistrates, judges, prosecutors, notaries, lawyers, and literati. The ideological-spiritual restoration (the most arduous) consisted of composing an important library, a historical archive, a representative picture gallery, and a school of musical philology and vocal polyphony.

For more than three decades, the castle and village have taken on precise cultural functions, thanks to the establishment of the 'Niccolo V' Center for Humanistic Studies, and the Free Chair of Philology and Vocal Polyphony of Castiglione del Terziere

VISITABLE BY RESERVATION

photocredit Lunigiana World

Castello di Monti - Monti di Licciana - Licciana Nardi (MS)
Phone: 331 8866241
email: info@sigeric.it

The castle overlooks the Taverone Valley, an ancient settlement that has been controlling the communication route towards the Apennines and the Linari Abbey since the 11th century.
Originally under the fiefdom of Villafranca, today this castle, together with Fosdinovo, still belongs to the heirs of its original owners. In the 16th century, Duke Moroello Malaspina turned the medieval castle into a noble residence with beautiful vaulted ceilings and monumental fireplaces. From its terrace, you can enjoy spanning views over the Lunigiana valley, the Apennines and the Apuan Alps peaks.

fotocredit Lunigiana World

Via del Forte, 54100 Massa

Phone: 0585 816524
email: info@istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it
website: www.castellomalaspinadimassa.it
www.istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it

The Castle of Massa dominates from the top of a rocky hill the extensive flat area below, with wide visibility of the entire coast. It was in all likelihood these features that determined the occupation of the hill where, presumably in the early Middle Ages, a fortified facility was built.
Written documentation mentions the toponym Massa in 882; according to historians, the locality must have been situated on the hill of the castle

The castle, seat of the marquises of Massa, had special relations with the coast and the sea. These marquises, fighting pirates, made themselves feudal lords of Corsica as well, assuming the predicate: marquises of Massa-Corsica. The first written documentation concerning the castle dates back to 1164, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa assigned part of the castle to Obizzo Malaspina. Some chroniclers recall that Massa, about a century later, in 1268, suffered occupation by the troops of Corradino di Svevia who devastated the territory. The following year the castle was destroyed by the Lucchese, who did not tolerate the willingness offered by the people of Massa to the emperor's troops.

The historical and architectural vicissitudes of the castle for the first centuries of the late Middle Ages remain in obscurity; ousted by the Marquis of Massa, the Malaspina family took over entirely, ceding the castle in the early 14th century to Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli. From the 14th century to the middle of the following century Massa and its castle depended on Lucca, Pisa, and Florence, later becoming the property of the Marquis Malaspina of Fosdinovo. It was with this seigniory that the castle took on the role of residence and underwent the most profound transformations, in a period between 1400 and 1600.
After the mid-17th century the main function of the castle became military until, the pre-unification states having waned, it remained as its only use as a prison, which continued until 1946. Restorations carried out by the Soprintendenza ai Monumenti di Pisa in the 1950s returned the castle to the city.

Via Papiriana, 2 Fosdinovo (MS)

tel. +39 0187.68891
mail: info@castellodifosdinovo.it
web: www.castellodifosdinovo.it

The castle belonged to the fiefdom of the so-called “flowering thorn” of the Malaspina family from the 14th to the 18th century.
The fortress was built in the 12th century perched on a sandstone rocky hill to dominate and defend the castrum of Fosdinovo, which in 1340 was passed down by the Nobili di Fosdinovo to Spinetta Malaspina. He was the one who created the fief of Fosdinovo, which was afterwards inherited by his nephew Galeotto.
In the 1500s, thanks to Gabriele and Lorenzo Malaspina, the Castle was turned into a Renaissance Palazzo, and later enlarged by Jacopo Malaspina in the 1600s.

Castello del Piagnaro – Pontremoli
Tel. 0187.831439

email: info@statuestele.org

web: www.statuestele.org

The Castle of Piagnaro is located on a hill overlooking the historic centre of Pontremoli, an integrating element in the city’s defensive system along with the walls and towers that protected the medieval hamlet. Constructed around the year 1000 for defensive purposes and to oversee the roads, on various occasions it has acted as the last stronghold safeguarding the citizens of Pontremoli; its name derives from the “piagne”, sandstone slabs traditionally used in Lunigiana to construct roofs, which can still be seen today within the structure.

The stele statues, found in Lunigiana, represent the most ancient and mysterious wealth of this land. The museum of the stele statues of Lunigiana, situated in the prestigious Piagnaro Castle, offers to visitors the possibility to embark on a compelling and enlightening journey of discovery of these testimonies of ancient times carved and engraved in stone.

The guest quarters of the Castle, created to accommodate pilgrims travelling along the Via Francigena are open all year round; it is necessary to book. The rooms in the guest quarters can accommodate up to 65 people and are available for groups, school-trips, associations, families, or single tourists. (from statuestele.org)

Castello Aghinolfi – Via Palatina, Montignoso (MS)
tel. 0585-816245
mail: info@istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it
web: www.istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it

Nel medioevo il castello Aghinolfi ebbe una particolare valenza strategica e fu conteso e ambito con secolari lotte dalle comunità di Lucca e Pisa, dalla signoria dei vescovi di Luni, dai Malaspina e dai loro consanguinei Marchesi di Massa. Le fonti scritte testimoniano l’esistenza della rocca nei secoli dell’altomedioevo: una pergamena datata 753, autentica nei contenuti sebbene rielaborazione tarda del documento originale, cita un oliveto situato nei pressi del “castellum Aginulfi”.
L’antichità del documento (l’atto più antico riferito al castello, ritenuto autentico, risale al 764) ed il toponimo, di chiara origine longobarda, spinsero Alfredo d’Andrade, grande esperto di architettura medievale del secolo XIX, a considerare il mastio ottagonale uno dei più interessanti monumenti militari longobardi italiani. La fortificazione, delimitata da un’ampia cinta muraria post-medievale, presenta una complessa articolazione interna costituita da un’area residenziale, il vecchio borgo, e da un’area più propriamente militare, contraddistinta dalla presenza del mastio.

Castello di Lusuolo – 54026 Mulazzo (MS)
Telefono: 0585 816524
email: info@istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it
sito web: istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it

Il Museo dell’Emigrazione della Gente di Toscana è nato nel 2004 dalla collaborazione tra il Centro di Documentazione dell’Emigrazione operante presso la Comunità Montana della Lunigiana, la Regione Toscana, il Consiglio dei Toscani all’Estero e il Comune di Mulazzo con l’obiettivo di conoscere e valorizzare il fenomeno dell’emigrazione toscana nel mondo.

Il Castello di Lusuolo si pone a difesa dell’omonimo abitato e dell’importante viabilità: domina infatti un guado sul fiume Magra, attivo fino ai primi anni del ‘900, ed un tratto della valle dove le colline, stringendosi intorno al corso d’acqua, rendevano facile il controllo della Via Francigena. Apparteneva in origine al feudo di Corrado l’Antico, Marchese di Mulazzo, ma le strutture più antiche attualmente visibili si possono far risalire alla metà del XIV secolo, quando Lusuolo diviene la sede marchionale di un feudo autonomo che aveva come primo marchese Azzone Malaspina e comprendeva Canossa, Tresana, Giovagallo, Riccò, Podenzana, Aulla, Bibola, Pallerone, Brina, Ponzano, Montedivalli, Gorasco, Beverino, Madrignano, Calice e Veppo

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