Lunigiana is an historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara. Its borders derive from the ancient diocese of Luni, which no longer exists. Map of Italy showing La Spezia in the northwest La Spezia is a city in the Liguria region of northern Italy, at the head of La Spezia Gulf. ... Massa-Carrara (It. ... Pope Pius XI blesses Bishop Stephen Alencastre as fifth Apostolic Vicar of the Hawaiian Islands in a Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace window. ...

Lunigiana covers an area from the Appenines to the Magra river, belonging in part to Tuscany and in part to 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 the art and of the religious beliefs of the peoples that inhabited Tuscany from the Bronze Age to start of the Roman Empire. This is about the terrestrial mountain range. ... Tuscany (Italian Toscana) is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. ... Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. ... See: Etruscan civilization Etruscan language Etruscan alphabet Etruscan mythology See also: Tyrrhenian, Lemnian, Pelasgian. ... The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... For other senses of this name, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

The history of Lunigiana is one of passion; of intense creativity but also ferocious battles. The nearby Gulf of Poets saw the Romantic poets Shelley and Byron set the artistic world on fire and follow in the Renaissance footsteps of Dante and Michelangelo. Romanticism was a secular and intellectual movement in the history of ideas that originated in late 18th century Western Europe. ... Shelley may mean: Shelley, Essex Shelley, Suffolk Shelley, West Yorkshire Shelley, Western Australia a suburb of Perth The Rule in Shelleys Case, a principle of the common law relating to property Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet and husband of Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, English novelist and wife of... The poet George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron is often referred to simply as Byron. ... In the traditional view, the Renaissance is understood as an historical age that was preceded by the Middle Ages and followed by the Reformation. ... Dante redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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, seeking an outlet on the Ligurian/Tuscan coast, they found in the Passo della Cisa the natural way to cross the Appennines. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Lombards (Latin Langobardi, from which the alternative name Longobards found in older English texts), were a Germanic people originally from Scandinavia that entered the late Roman Empire. ...

On the other hand, when Luni (which has disappeared) was a flourishing city and harbour, the 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 . Route of the Via Francigena Via Francigena was an important medieval road connecting Canterbury, England, with Rome via France and Switzerland. ... Under the system of feudalism, a fiefdom, fief, feud or fee, often consisted of heritable lands or revenue-producing property granted by a liege lord in return for a form of allegiance, originally often to give him the means to fulfill his military duties when called upon. ...

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. Pontremoli is a communne and bishops see of the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany, Italy, in the upper valley of the Magra, 25 miles north by east of Spezia by rail and 49 miles SSW of Parma, 843 feet above sea-level. ... Villafranca is a town located in the province of Navarra, in the autonomous community of Navarra, in the North of Spain. ...

Concerning this we must say that the Malaspinas followed rules which were quite different from those applied in other 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 led to the formation of dozens of little feuds, each requiring a new castle, on the occasion of every succession. Thus many small (and picturesque) castles were built in Lunigiana, but at the cost of weakening the power of the family at each 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 Lunigiana
• Bagnonemia History and traditions of Bagnone, a little village in Lunigiana (Italian site)