Massa-Carrara: Marble, Castles and Lunigiana Culture
Accommodation in Massa-Carrara
In Massa-Carrara, the history of marble can be seen both in historic buildings and in collections dedicated specifically to it. In the Carrara area, there are open-pit, shaft, hillside and tunnel quarries that form marble landscapes cut into the mountain. The Museo Civico del Marmo presents Roman archaeology, local history and modern marble-sculpting techniques. Its industrial archaeology section also displays machines and tools used to extract and process marble from Roman times to the present day.
Culture and History
Several castles and historic buildings preserve the region’s different layers of history. Since 1805, the Castello Malaspina in Carrara has housed the Accademia di Belle Arti. The Rocca of Carrara was reinforced as a military fortress in the 13th century by the town’s secular authorities. The Castello Malaspina in Massa can be reached from the historic center via a scenic road with old stairways and narrow streets.
Fivizzano also offers tangible evidence of the region’s cultural history. The Museo della Stampa is located in the Palazzo Fantoni Bononi. The Teatro degli Imperfetti opened in 1807 and has 600 seats. In Aulla, the Museo di Storia Naturale della Lunigiana houses botanical, zoological and mineralogical collections. The museum has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and a wheelchair-accessible parking space. Equi Terme has a railway station on the Aulla–Lucca line.
Museums
In Fosdinovo, architectural history, the culture of remembrance and regional trails stand side by side. The original keep of the Castello Malaspina dates from the 11th century and was later expanded with defensive towers and turrets. The Chiesa Parrocchiale di San Remigio is a 13th-century building; it contains the tomb of Galeotto I Malaspina. The Oratorio della Compagnia dei Bianchi has a white marble façade and a Baroque interior.
The Museo audiovisivo della Resistenza presents interviews, archive images and recordings through interactive multimedia installations. The museum also includes a photo library dedicated to the Apuan-Lunigiana Resistance. The Fosdinovo area is crossed by trails suitable for trekking and mountain biking.
Landscape
The Museo delle Statue Stele is located in the Castello del Piagnaro in Pontremoli, preserving significant documentation of the Lunigiana’s prehistoric past. The Lunigiana stelae displayed there date from the Copper Age to the period of Romanization. In the same town, the Disfida dei Falò takes place every January as a medieval contest of fires. Medievalis is a historical reenactment held annually at the end of August, with markets, food stalls and medieval activities.
The landscape can also be explored through clearly identified places and trails. The Stretti di Giaredo are a series of gorges carved out of the rock by the Torrente Gordana. Nature trails along the Magra River and its tributaries offer impressive landscape views in largely unspoiled surroundings. From Monte Pasquilio, located at an altitude of around 800 meters, the view stretches from the Apuan-Versilian coast to the islands of the Tuscan Archipelago and, on clear days, as far as Corsica.
The Via Marchesana runs from the Passo dei Due Santi, a 1,392-meter-high pass between the provinces of Parma and Massa-Carrara, via Patigno, Noce, Coloretta and La Dolce to Bosco di Rossano in the valley of the Torrente Teglia.
Pilgrimage Tradition
In Aulla, the Abbazia di San Caprasio was founded within a castle in 884. Archaeological excavations there uncovered a monumental tomb of the saint dating from the 10th century. The Museo dell’Abbazia presents life in the abbey, the history of San Caprasio and the passage of pilgrims along the Via Francigena. The Abbazia di San Caprasio is considered one of the most important Italian stops on the Via Francigena.
For further information on local places, the supplementary pages lead to Zeri, Comano and Bagnone.
For the broader travel overview: Tuscany.
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