38.107.179.217
|
Copyright 2007/2008 |
|
The Province of Massa Carrara is situated in the northernmost part of Tuscany, in the centre of wonderful places such as the Golfo dei Poeti, the “Cinque Terre” and tuscan art cities. Here, the nature has created a perfect harmony between the land and the sea. The Apuan Alps, famous marble mountains, overlook the sea breaking on the sandy beach, which extends for kilometres. The excellent geographical position and the exceptional variety of the territory make this part of Tuscany as a paradise, the right destination for any type of tourism. The Lunigiana is the northernmost part of the province and it stretches beyond the Apuan Alps. This small plot of land – one among the richest of history and tradition – takes its name from Luni, an important centre during the Roman Age. Following the river Magra, crossing the medieval itineraries of the Via Francigena, it is possible to find the well-preserved signs of an ancient and evolved civilization. The Province of Massa Carrara takes also is tourist importance fromthe Apuan Alps, a magnificent mountain chain which reminds, with its peaks and slopes, the morphology of the Alps in northern Italy. (APT Massa Carrara). |
|
Holidays & Cookery in Tuscany
|
|
Not commercial site |
|
The City |
|
Museums |
|
Churches |
|
Cuisine Wines |
|
Fun |
|
Other |
|
Massa Carrara |
|
AULLA: One of the most important centres of the religious and civic life of Lunigiana has lain, since the year One Thousand, in a narrow strip of land where the rivers Magra and Aulella converge. At that time, Aulla was a small city, built to defend the bridges and roads leading into the region of Lucca, Liguria and to the Cisa Pass: there were the years of the fame and success of the Via Francigena as a route for trade and pilgrimage… CARRARA: Carrara is the world capital of marble and the centre of the marble industrial sector. It is situated on the Ligurian Sea and it is in the North-West part of Tuscany. Together with Massa, it gives the name to the province of Massa-Carrara, which spreads from the sea to the Apuan Alps, in the south it borders Versilia (province of Lucca), in the east, in the north Reggio Emilia and Parma, in north-west La Spezia… COMANO: Is situated in a narrow valley, alongside the River Taverne, at the foot of the Caporaghena Peak, the most interesting natural treasure of the area. The settlements in Comano area go back to very ancient ages, but the first real news are dated in the 11th century… FIVIZZANO: Fivizzano is famous for its local traditions, the “Disfida degli Arceri di terra e di Corte” (Challenge of the Ground Archers and the Court Archers, a historical evoking), and for humanities, preserved and continued from the 16th century by the Accademia degli Imperfetti… LICCIANA NARDI: The Licciana Nardi Valley has some really beautiful views, especially around Monti and Apella, where the old tower is a reminder of the medieval settlement and where, in the old part of the town, the birthplace of the Risorgimental martyr Anacarsi Nardi is marked… MONTIGNOSO: Montignoso, with its castle, lied under the jurisdiction of Lucca until 1845, then it became a dominion of the Estensi Family, and finally, it was unified to the Province of Massa Carrara after that Italy became a Kingdom… PODENZANA: The ancient “Potentiana” had been ruled by the Malaspina family from 1306 up to becoming an independent marquisate. The wonderful Malaspina Castle, currently of private property, dominates the old town and it is visibile from the valley floor… TRESANA: Tresana, absorbed by the nature, offers to the visitors a small village castled on the hill. This old village has a detached town-hall administration (Town hall and some offices), in Barbarasco, a town of this municipality… VILLAFRANCA IN LUNIGIANA: Villafranca is the soul of Lunigiana peasant culture. Here you can visit the Ethnographic Museum, housed in the old 15th century Mills. In a strategic position, near the Magra river, there is the Castle, built by the Malaspina starting from the 12th century... |
|
BAGNONE: Bagnone spreads over 73.79 square kilometres in the Lunigiana’s high part, in a mountainous area. It was born as a castle and then it became a vicariate of Florence in the 15th century. Among the economic sources of the past, the most important were the chestnut woods and the sheep-farming. Bagnone is also a fine tourist destination, but its main feature, over the years, is the weekly market and the important seasonal fairs… CASOLA IN LUNIGIANA: Casola, from the roman "Casuli", is the entrance to the Parco delle Apuane in the Lunigiana. A very rich landscape of natural trasures, which is situated above a peak in the high course of the rivers Aulella and Tassonaro, in a key position which unifies the two mountain chains: the Apennine and the Alps in a border zone between the Lunigiana and the Garfagnana… FILATTIERA: Filattiera is the classical example of a town which changed during the years because of the different dominions which crossed the Magra valley. From the Ligurian, to the Romans, from the Byzantines, to the Longobards up to the Malaspina Family… FOSDINOVO: Is a very old settlement that for centuries has dominated the Magra and the Luni plains. The atmosphere is one of borderlands: you can almost smell the sea without forgetting the mountains behind. Local cuisine is excellent and can be tried and tasted in its many good restaurants… MASSA: Spread over approximately 90 sq.kms., the area is surrounded by hills of pine, ilex and woodland undergrowth, which have been progressively cut back to make room for vineyards… MULAZZO: Mulazzo is the most famous town of book dealers in Italy: from Fogola to Lazzarelli, from Bertoni to Maucci, from Tarantola to Giovannacci, all families of Parana and Montereggio… PONTREMOLI: The city’s fortune was made by its network of roads: apart from the Via Francigena, it was connected to the road for Genua passing through Zeri; the road for Borgallo which led to Borgotaro and on into the Piacenza area; the road for Cirone which led to Parma by way of Langhirano. Today, Pontremoli is a precious basket of artistic and monumental treasures: to cross its bridges or walk its cobbled streets is like leafing through an art history book… ZERI: Zeri is the ideal destination for anyone who wants to rediscover the silence of the mountains without having to renounce all the comforts of modern life. Here you can discover rhythms which have been lost in other places and a countryside where they still raise a unique local kind of sheep which can not be found anywhere else as well as free roaming cattle. On the borders with Tuscany, Liguria and Emilia Zeri is just waiting to be discovered… |