In the presence of the witnesses of time - MONUMENTAL LUNIGIANA - English version complete

MONUMENTAL LUNIGIANA

LA SPEZIA & GULF OF POETS

VALLEY OF MAGRA

CINQUE TERRE & RIVIERA

MASSA-CARR ARA & APUANIA

VALLEY OF VARA

da Oscar

Il locale è situato all’interno dell’incantevole Porto Mirabello, dove gli ospiti potranno godere di una splendida vista mare ad un passo dal centro città.

Al ristorante Akua proponiamo una cucina semplice e tradizionale, caratterizzata da piatti che mirano ad esaltare l’eccellenza delle materie prime impiegate. Potrete gustare momenti indimenticabili in

e godere di un’importante cantina che vanta oltre 180 etichette tra bollicine, bianchi e rossi, italiani e francesi.

The restaurant is located inside the enchanting Porto Mirabello, where the guests will enjoy the beautiful sea view just a stroll away from the city centre. We propose a simple and traditional cuisine, with delicious dishes which exalt the excellent ingredients. You will spend unforgettable moments

Restaurant +39 0187 779188

Pool +39 366 1242333

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our important wine selection of over 180 different labels of sparkling, white and red, Italian and French wines.

Porto Mirabello - Viale Italia snc La Spezia (SP)

Accesso alla piscina da giugno a settembre con noleggio lettini e teli mare e light lunch al bar incluso.

Il bar propone colazioni, e pranzi veloci.

Access to the swimming pool from June to September provides sun loungers and beach towels rental and light lunch at the bar included. The bar offers breakfasts and quick lunches.

wo have

BRANDS CHOSEN US

La Spezia

Lerici

Villafranca in Lunigiana

Portovenere

Ameglia

Pontremoli

Mulazzo

Varese

Ligure

Monterosso

Brugnato

Levanto Bagnone

Aulla Riomaggiore

Gino Giorgetti Editor-in-chief

Services

As already outlined last year with “Orma di Dante non si cancella” (“Dante’s footsteps cannot be erased”), this new Italia per Voi publication aims at ‘crossing’ the current administrative borders of the provinces and regions to illustrate the special features of a unique territory, Historical Lunigiana, whose identity has lived through centuries and millennia. Here, starting from the epopee of the Ligurian-Apuans, the undisputed rulers of this land until it was conquered by Rome, we arrive to the present day, passing through the reorganisation of the post-barbarian Christian society which, following the vicissitudes between the Bishops of Luni and the Malaspina, led to the crucial stay of Dante. Dante, who was the father of language during a period in which Italy was becoming the cradle of a new Europe, took vital inspiration from this land and left here an indelible mark.

This is the perspective through which Italia per Voi aims at introducing Lunigiana Storica (“Historical Lunigiana”) to tourists, whether they are local or international visitors, occasional guests or serial seekers of cultural, naturalistic or enogastronomic emotions. This is also due to the fact that Lunigiana, with its Riviera and its valleys, with its villages overhanging the sea or located on top of hills, with its castles and rivers, the multiplicity of woods and mountains, which frame this territory and are not far away from the beaches, round.

Historical Lunigiana is a limited but well-rounded territory: it is the perfect combination of geographical features that appeal to the inhabitants of big and small towns.

This sums up the purpose of our editorial work, which has always been aimed at describing and understanding a strip of land that has miraculously preserved its human-scale dimensions and where there are literally all the premises and reasons to spend an unforgettable stay made of intense emotions.

It often happens that the English, French, German and numerous Italianliday here, end up buying homes where they can fully taste the values of good living

Apart from Dante, the great master, what more appropriate reason than the Monuments, to document the uniqueness of such a special region that still lacks the deserved recognition? After more than seven months of research and commercial production, as the 2022 tourist season is approaching, “local masterpieces” that cannot be missed. We do so with the promise to take into consideration, through another dedicated project, the possibility of a complementary edition in the near future.

“In the presence of the witnesses of time”

It is important to know that each monument we are going to talk about today is not only representative of a place but also of a brand that we highly recommend. Firstly, because entrepreneurs who invest in culture are undoubtedly worthy people. Secondly, because they are true professionals whose with us.

Monumental Lunigiana is the continuation of a project that is aimed at spreading, through its thematic press releases, the knowledge of a unique territory while highligthing the value of the work of the men and women who are immersed in this reality every day.

With this purpose in mind, the project will give each participating partner their on the web through the italiapervoimagazine.it portal, both in Italian and English, in addition to the printed and digital versions of the work. Each partner will also have personalised posts to interact through socials, which will go up from April to October 2022, together with sponsored campaigns published by the same magazine. These will be featured in the issuu. com platform, which is available to national and international readers.

We would like to thank Mirco Manuguerra, founder and president of the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi (“Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies”), for his participation in the editorial project, for editing the texts and for his precious collaboration in the selection of the works; Enzo Millepiedi, our Editor-in-Chief, for his superlative supervision; Maria Grazia Dallagiacoma, Sales Director, whose task was not certainly the easiest during these complicated times; Sara Fornesi, Graphic Designer, who, with her maps and creative touch, took care of most of the structure and layout of the work; Erika Giorgetti, our Social Media Manager, responsible for the development of Promotional Communications through the italiapervoimagazine.it portal and our social accounts. Many thanks to the contributors of the photographs and to spread the message to the world.

Last but not least, our greatest thanks goes to the commercial and professional activities and bodies that have joined this project, becoming partners and sponsors. The entire edi-

and passion that this book now exists.

At this point, all there is left for us to do is to wait for the judgment of the readers and users of this “guide”. While waiting for the opinion and advice coming from people who really care about the future of Lunigiana, we wish you a good read.

Maria Grazia Dallagiacoma

Sara Fornesi

Erika Giorgetti

HISTORICAL LUNIGIANA

BEDONIA BORGO VAL DI TARO

Passo del Bocco

SESTRI LEVANTE GENOVA VENTIMIGLIA

CASTIGLIONE CHIAVARESE

Passo del Bracco

Passo Centocroci

BEDONIA ALBARETO

Passo dei Due Santi

Passo del Rastrello

DI

Passo del Brattello

PARMA

BERCETO PARMA

Passo della Cisa

Passo del Cirone

Passo del Lagastrello

CALICE AL CORNOVIGLIO

LE GRAZIE CASOLA IN LUNIGIANA

BOLANO

Isola del Tino PODENZANA

VEZZANO LIGURE

SANTO STEFANO DI MAGRA Isola Palmaria

CASTELNUOVO NE’ MONTI

Passo del Cerreto

CASTELNUOVO MAGRA

FIUMARETTA LUNI MONTEMARCELLO

BOCCA DI MAGRA

GULF OF LA SPEZIA

Passo dei Carpinelli

CASTELNUOVO GARFAGNANA

ITALIA PER VOI - ANNO X Nr. 59 - Mag - Giu 2022

Aut. Trib. SP nr. 1116/12 Iscrizione al ROC: N° 22857

Historical Lunigiana - The Region that lacks for nothing

The Tresaure of the Five Districts

LA SPEZIA & GULF OF POETS

La Spezia

Lerici

Portovenere

Free legal aid by Comune della Spezia

Managing Director Enzo Millepiedi

Texts by Mirco Manuguerra (Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi)

Publishing project

ITALIA PER VOI s.r.l.

Address and contact details

Via Vittorio Veneto 255 - SP italiapervoi@gmail.com

Editor-in-chief and Administrative Department

Gino Giorgetti

Business Management

Maria Grazia Dallagiacoma Mob. +39 333.8485291

Design, layout and post-production

Sara Fornesi

Social media and exhibitions

Erika Giorgetti

Photos and images

Gino Giorgetti, Sara Fornesi, Erika Giorgetti

Other photo contributions

Italia Per Voi s.r.l., Alice Borghini, Walter Bilotta, Enrico Amici, Comune della Spezia, CLSD, Museo Statue Stele Pontremoli (per gentile concessione), Roberto Celi, Stefano Lanzardo, Michela Lucchetti

Printing and publishing

Reggiani Print S.r.l. 20.000 esemplari

THE VALLEY OF MAGRA

Sarzana

Ameglia

Pontremoli

Mulazzo

Villafranca in Lunigiana

Bagnone

Aulla

Other treasures in the Valley of Magra: Licciana Nardi - Anacarsi Nardi

Casola in Lunigiana - Pieve di Codiponte

Fivizzano - Monument to Giovanni Fantoni

Fosdinovo - Funeral monument to Galeotto I Malaspina

Free legal aid by Comune di Mulazzo

UM MA

Riomaggiore

Monterosso al Mare

Levanto

Varese Ligure

Brugnato

Massa Carrara CINQUE

The marble Triptych of Trebiano

Discovolo’s Deposition in Bonassola

The epigrafh of the Battle of Meloria in Moneglia

“The Region that lacks for nothing” LUNIGIANA HISTORICAL

“Lunigiana” is a toponym coming from Luni, a Roman city founded in 77 BC at river Magra’s mouth which gave a permanent connotation to the whole area. This geographical and cultural reality is too

Magra, when in fact it permeates a much larger area, commonly referred to by experts as Lunigiana Storica can be felt throughout the whole region.

In keeping with the best tradition of studies, we will consider this reality as inclusive of the administrative provinces of Spezia and Massa-Carrara, with the exception of some territories within the provinces of Parma (e.g. Berceto and Albareto) and Lucca (the Versilia territory that includes Pietrasanta and the Upper Garfagnana of the Gramolazzo area).

The origins of Lunigiana’s historical territory are directly connected to the great prehistoric tradition of Statues menhir, megalithic anthropomorphic statues that have been widely recognized as the most important representation of the megalithic culture in Europe and, as a consequence, one of the most relevant examples worldwide. The ensemble of monuments, counting about a hundred pieces, has a very distinctive feature: the number of the male menhirs (carrying a Celtic dagger) is almost the same as that of the female ones (wearing noticeable necklaces), clearly indicating an equalised society.

The region has its deepest roots in the incredibly extensive period of the Lower Paleolithic, which, as -

sence of the Neanderthal subspecies in the Tecchia di Equi, a wonderful thermal location situated under the Apuan Alps’ northern towers. Following the splendour of the Roman age, Luni reached a new peak during the Byzantine era, while the Exarchate of Ravenna and the Eastern Empire were trying to defend at least some of Italy’s territory from barbarian invasions: during these centuries Lunigiana was merged with Emilia-Romagna and provided a strategic access to the Tyrrhenian

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and Luni became the Capital of the Provincia Maritima Italorum. What remains of that ancient glory is the legacy of the Headquarters in Chief of the Marine Military Department of Alto Tirreno, in the headquarters of the Ammiragliato (“Admiralty”) of La Spezia. During the following Longobard seen as Tusciam ingressus (“Door into Tuscany”) by Frederick II of Svevia, the Stupor mundi (“Wonder of the world”). It is no coincidence that a great European road - which today we rightly celebrate and value as the Via Francigena - had already been built between those two reigns. The part of the Francigena that crosses Lunigiana is one of its most interesting sections.ned as a great European road. The word “Europa” was our great father Dante and this event occurred exactly in the Lunigiana territory: in Canto VIII of Purgatorio (“Purgatory”), the Canto of Lunigiana par excellence, the Supreme Poet gave credit to the Malaspina family for reaching continental fame, stating that they were always welcoming towards exile poets.

Today Lunigiana is referred to with various names: “Terra dei 100 Castelli” (“Land of the 100 Castles”) is one of them, but also Regione a cui nulla manca (“Region that lacks for nothing”, M. Manuguerra, 2002). These expressions emphasize the disparate and immense historical, cultural, natural prosperity of this territory, which is a truly unique place worldwide, despite cove-

say that it hosts two National Parks (the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine and the Cinque Terre, “Five Lands”), two Regional Parks (Apuan Alps and Porto Venere-Islands of the Gulf of La Spezia), a Parco Fluviale (the -

ne Reserves (Cinque Terre and Portovenere-Islands of the Gulf of La Spezia).

In Lunigiana, within a few tens of kilometres beeline, you can encounter ski slopes and railway tracks; all kinds of beaches and sacred woods; a sea with a beautiful archipelago and beaches of all types, all of this combined with a generous hinterland

that abounds in lakes, rivers, rural areas and hills.

exceptionally impressive territory. But this Region, which was blessed by Fate, has to safeguard its “human scale” dimensions. We must never forget that Tourism means ethical economy, which leads to Peace and universal Brotherhood. These same values were a topic of great interest in the work of Dante Alighieri, who remains the most eminent visitor of this region.

Let’s hope that the Veltro (“Greyhound”) always guides us.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MAURO BIAGIONI, ENRICA BONAMINI, DAVIDE MARCESINI, La Lunigiana dei Castelli, La Spezia, Ed. Giacché, 1999.

GIUSEPPE BENELLI, Lunezia, Luna Editore, La Spezia, 1999.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Charta Magna – Luoghi e cose notevoli della Lunigiana Storica, Edizioni Luna Nova, Sarzana, 2002 (II ed. 2004).

THE FIVE DISTRICTS OF “THE LAND OF THE MOON”

The Cinque Terre and the Riviera di Levante (“The coast of the rising sun”) of La Spezia cover an incredible stretch of coast, which was also featured , the masterpiece that paved the way to his Nobel Prize award. This territory has been elevated to the status of National Park (including the Marine Reserve) and it partially owes its international fame to the beauty of the luminous Nativity Scene of Manarola, created by Mario Andreoli in 1961.

The Gulf of Poets Lerici and, by extension, the entire Gulf of La Spezia. Its marvellous archipelago of smaller islands (Palmaria,Tino and Tinetto) further embellish this territory. one of his short poems from 1916 (Notte sul Golfo dei Poeti, “Night in the Gulf of Poets”), which he dedicated to the Footprint left behind by personalities such as Dante himself (Pur III 49-51), Shelley, Byron and others. Later, the list of personalities included also D. H. Lawrence, Mario Soldati, Giovanni Giudici. The Valley of Magra is the cradle of the wonderful megalithic tradition of the ancient Ligurian Apuans. Today, this culture survives in the Museum of the

Statue Stele in Pontremoli as well as in the Museo Civico (“Civic Museum”) in La Spezia. The territory also includes the areas on the Tuscan-Emilian Apenwestern spurs.

The Valley of Vara Valle del Biologico (“Organic Valley”): as of today, it is the region in Europe where the human footprint is atrest. For this very reason, it is the subject of continuous international research. It is a heaven for mineral prospectors: extremely rare, if not unique, varieties have been discovered here. The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (“High Route of the Ligurian Mountains”) is an itinerary of extraordinary importance: the Via Herculea was even mentioned by Strabo as that very ancient road that connected Etruria to the Iberian Peninsula. The Apuan Alps are the kingdom of the renowned variety of white marble that the world can still admire in the works of Michelangelo and Canova, authors of some of the greatest monuments of all time in the history of art. Just like the Cinque Terre, the Apuan Alps, which Dante wrote about, attract international tourism.

LA SPEZIA & THE GULF OF POETS

The Archipelago and its pearls

The concept of “Gulf of Poets” was created by the fertile mind of poet and playwright Sem Benelli (1877-1949), who used this term on the 30th of August in 1910, during the funeral oration in honour of famous hygienist and anthropologist Paolo Mantegazza, a fellow San Terenzo local. The motif certainly appeared in the title of a short poem edited by Ettore Cozzani, in 1919: Notte sul Golfo dei Poeti (“Night in the Gulf of Poets”), a true classic in the literature of Lunigiana.

In all likelihood, the Gulf Benelli wrote about was originally the part of the gulf between the castles of Lerici and San Terenzo, which he could greatly admire from the turret in Villa Marigola where he lodged. However, in the 1919 short poem he certainly extended the meaning of the term so that it covered the whole Gulf of La Spezia as we know it to-

an experienced swimmer, legendary (or mythological?) swim from Portovene-

re to Lerici. In the poem, Benelli named illustrious personalities such as Percy Bysshe Shelley, George Gordon Noel Byron, Wilhelm Richard Wagner, Giosuè Carducci and also Severino Ferrari, who was a companion of the great Giosué and had a teaching career in La Spezia for many years. By including Wagner in the list Benelli was obviously broadening, and rightly so, the meaning of the term “poet”, just as he did with the meaning

the written contributions by Giovanni Giudici, born in Le Grazie (a seaside district of Porto Venere), and the indisputable value of Giovanni Bilotti and Ignazio of the notion so that it now includes the cave of Sprugola and Paolo Bertolani. Apart from being an authentic land of po-cesco Tarabotto was the captain of Rex, a ship that was awarded the Blue Riband in Mancini, captain of Destriero during the equally victorious – yet controversial –

BONTÀ NASCOSTE

ristorante

Via Cavour, 52 - Lerici (SP)

+39 0187.965500

+39 347.0703249

www.bontanascoste.it

xcellence, tastiness, and high quality variety can be found at the restaurant Bontà Nascoste in Lerici, guided by Borghesi brothers, who liven up a cuisine based passion and will, typical of the Ligurian culture.

eccellenza, la bontà e la varietà della gastronomia si manifestano in una delle più alte espressioni al ristorante Bontà Nascoste di Lerici sotto la guida dei fratelli Emanuele e Emiliano Borghesi. Il ristorante propone una cucina prevalentemente basata sul pesce e sui frutti di mare che nasce dalla sapienza, dall’ispirazione, dalla passione e dalla volontà che é tipica della cultura ligure.

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transatlantic crossing in 1992), the Gulf of Poets includes places of sheer beauty: the Portovenere promontory is much praised by advertisers, just like the Cinque Terre. It is home to the Church of San Pietro (“St. Peter”), which replaced a Roman temple dedicated to Venus. The Madonna Bianca, taking place every 17th of August, is a spectacular event of

the sea and the whole promontory are immersed in a swarm of oil lamps that give the landscape a Dantesque atmo-

is like the dazzling stairway dreamt by Jacob, and it seems that, at any minute, Farinata degli Uberti might appear from the waist up from the surrounding rocks. Lerici itself is a precious jewel, -

nal panoramic view on the Archipelago of the Gulf of La Spezia (formed by the Palmaria, Tino, Tinetto islands and by the rock of the Scola Tower) and the colossal castle of Pisan origins. La Spezia is not beautiful in itself but there is something to be said about many of its integral elements, such as its Liberty and Futurist legacy, the Naval Base and the Museums.

seafood dishes are unquestionably interesting: in (“island-style”), seafood spaghetti and stewed octopus. Within the last twenty years, hospitality has seen improvements everywhere, not only in the hotel and restaurant industry. The new cruise terminal certainly played a crucial role in this. Right from the beginning, the

terminal proved successful thanks to its favourable geographical position (from here, you can reach international tourist destinations like Florence and Pisa) and to the powerful appeal of the relatively close Cinque Terre.

The patron saint of the Gulf is Saint Venerius, a monk from Tino who lived in the VI century. He is the protector of lighthouse

keepers. What remains of his hermitage

Tino Island or Isola del Faro (“Lighthoufamous poem Meriggio. The entire Archipelago can be explored taking advantage in Molo Italia, on the sea frontline of the city.

CHAMPAGNERIA

Via Capellini 94/98

Portovenere (SP)

Tel. +39 0187.792722

Mob. +39 348.2686398

ristoranteportivene@hotmail.com

LA SPEZIA

Giuseppe Garibaldi, Ubaldo Mazzini, Richard Wagner, the Countess of Castiglione, “St. George”, Del Santo’s “Winged Victory”, The “Mermaid in the Gulf”, Giuseppe Mazzini

Hamlet details

Gino Patroni (1920-1992), a journalist and writer from La Spezia, author of remarkable collections of puns, moved to Milan looking for better luck and lived there for a while. He stated that the best thing about the capital of Lombardy is the Milano Centrale railway station, because from here people can look at trains leaving for La Spezia…

city as the most beautiful in the world: it is situated in a truly heaven kissed region. In Roman times, it was praised by poet Persio, who may have been born there. It has got sensational surroundings such as Portovenere, Lerici, the Cinque Terre and, within a few kilometres, the Apuan Alps and the Apennine Mountains. Anybody who leaves this city leaves a piece of heart as well; those who visit the city are likely to decide to stay. This has been the case for many people from Lombardy, who wanted to escape from the chaos of the metropolis. Many foreigners as well, mainly English people, are seduced by the landscape and by the irresistible charm of the weather.val village. In ancient times, before the se-

-

ilt between 1916 and 1933 as a protection against extreme waves, the urban area was limited to the Colli (“Hills”) that surrounded the XIII century Genoese castle. At that

time, La Spezia was generally seen by histohad a strategic position and an incredible Gulf full of peripheral coves that ensured a safe haven.

As soon as Genoa, that had already gained full control over Lerici and Portovenere, realized the importance of this maritime village, famous doge Simon Boccanegra decided to establish the Podesteria (“Authority”) in 1343; later, in 1371, Genoa chose La Spezia as the headquarters of the Vicariate of the Riviera di Levante. This was one of the three administration bodies of the Republic of Genoa. Du-

ring the XVII century, the harbour, which by that time had expanded, turned out to be a potential threat to the hegemony of the Genoese government so much so that they thought about earthing the Gulf up by changing the direction of the course of the Magra. Luckily, this plan was not put into practice. At the beginning of the XIX century, Napoleon, whose family originally came from Sarzana, understood the strategic importance of the harbour better than anyone else and designed its military base. The base however was built during the Kingdom of Italy, in the second half of the XIX century, thanks to Cavour: works began in 1862 and ended in 1869, when general Domenico Chiodo

The Technical Naval Museum, the most important museum of the Italian Navy, is a must visit.

The construction of the Naval Base, which has been one of the major assets of the new city since its inception, drew in labourers from all over Italy and led to a radical change in the social fabric of the whole community. It is precisely at this point that a strong sense of protection

this sense, the brilliant Ubaldo Mazzini (1868-1923) played a pivotal role. He was a historian, archeologist and one of the

“Il cuore del Golfo dei Poeti”

It has a central position in relation to historical cultural routes, such as the Via Francigena, the Sentiero Liguria (“Liguria Trail”), the Alta Via delle Cinque Terre (“High Path of the Cinque Terre”), the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (“High Route of the Ligurian Mountains”), the Alta Via del Golfo (“High Route of the Gulf”). It is therefore easily reachable and accessible. Furthermore, it has a network of roads that encircle the City or that connect it to the Cinque Terre, Lunigiana and the Vara Valley, by either public or private transport.

It offers visitors the opportunity to see buildings, streets and where the rigour of Neoclassicism is softened by the loose Liberty architectural style. Worthy of note are also the Naval Base with its Technical Naval Museum, the Castle of San Giorgio and the Archaeological Civic Museum, the “Giacomo Puccini” Conservatory of Music, the Teatro Civico (“Civic Theatre”), the and the Public Gardens

Comune della Spezia Piazza Europa, 1 - La Spezia www.comune.laspezia.it

Infocenter Lia

Via del Prione, c/o Museo Civico A. Lia Tel. +39 0187.026152 infocenterlia@comune.sp.it

most insightful vernacular poets. Another historian, Ubaldo Formentini (1880-1958), born in Licciana Nardi, gave the greatest impulse to the establisment of the Museo Civico. He also made a great contribution to the local education with the foundation of the Accademia Lunigianese di Scienze ‘G.

of. During those epic years, Ettore Cozzani (1884-1971) was active as the founder of (elevated to province status in 1923) owes a lot for becoming the world capital of Futuriby the . They were realized by “aeropainters” Enrico Prampolini and Fillia (Luigi Colombo). Marinetti himself, who regularly visited the city, created the Premio di pittura Golfo della Spezia (“Painting Award of the Gulf of La Spezia”) in 1933 and his Aeropoema del Golfo della Spezia (“Aeropoem of the Gulf of La Spezia”) was published here.

The Palio del Golfo was established in 1925. It is a rowing race where many distriof August, which coincides with the Festa

del Mare (“Sea Celebration”).

The powerful La Spezia Jazz Festival saw the light of day in 1969.

The city has an amazing seafront promenade that is separated from the urban area Giardini Storici (“Historic Gardens”), which were planned and built during to the Castle of San Giorgio Museum is a must. La Spezia successfully managed to regain this XIII century Genoese manor house. It hosts archaeological collections that include some wonderful statues menhir from Lunigiana (the Verrucola, by a sort of Michelangelo from 5000 years ago, is a particularly famous example). The vast artistic collections in the Museo Civico and CAMeC (Centre of Modern and Contemporary Art) are of great interest as well.

lections, which raise interest on a natioscattered in too many structures. La Spezia absolutely needs a where visitors can appreciate the complete historical and artistic repertoire. The natural designated location for this “small Louvre” of

degli Abruzzi, the barracks of the Navy

this dream come true.

A visit to the Parco delle Mura (“Park of the City Walls”), a path which was recently inaugurated, is another noteworthy stop.

Truth be told, in order for La Spezia to emerge from its typical unpretentious historical dimension, at least two actions are required. First of all, the Naval Base should aim at becoming an actual Exhibition City: it is safe to say that a structure of this kind could give an impulse to the national economy. Second of all, the Richard Wagner (1813-1883) must be promoted on a European level through the Wagner La Spezia Festival. The local Teatro Civico (“Civic Theatre”) should be named in honour of the German composer even though it was inaugurated in 1846, seven years before Wagner visited the city,

been named after anyone. The city is still looking for administrators who are capable of enhancing its enormous potential. However, in the last years the city has managed to transform into a welcoming and charming oasis for visitors. The entire historic centre of La Spezia has become a cohesive network of pubs -

specialities are seafood dishes (stewed octopus, seafood spaghetti, sea bream Farinata and Pizza alla spezzina (“La Spezia-style”), rigorously served in slices. However, the dish which is ultimately unique to the city is the Mesc-ciua, an easy and utterly delicious soup made from chickpeas, spelt and cannellini beans, seasoned with a gush of milled oil and a sprinkling of black pepper.

La Spezia and its Gulf gave birth to famous people. Apart from the above mentioned ones, we should mention Giancarlo Giannini (1942), a world renowned actor, performer and voice over actor.

LA NUOVA SPEZIA

In un ambiente caldo e familiare il ristorante LA NUOVA SPEZIA cucina tradizionale e marinara, seguendo con scrupolo le regole della dieta mediterranea ed usando i prodotti tipici della Liguria.

LA NUOVA SPEZIA is a cosy and informal restaurant that and seafood cuisine, carefully following the rules of the Mediterranean diet and using typical Ligurian products.

LA SPEZIA AND THE HERO

Among other things, La Spezia is “the city of Garibaldi”. General Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), Italian national hero and Father of the Homeland, visited La Spezia

after the fall of the Roman Republic; he later stayed at Varignano – which was a mi-

litary prison and hospital under Napoleon and an old lazaret under the Republic of Genoa. The second time was in 1862, after being injured in Aspromonte; he came for the third time in 1867 after the Battle of Mentana. He was nursed back to health two times, but he was nonetheless treated as a prisoner. While he was staying at

Giuseppe Garibaldi

Varignano, he was forced to accept to be permanently exiled to Caprera: the by now become an excessively cumbersome presence in the eyes of the mighty.

Every time the General came to La Spezia, local people never failed to warmly welcome him. This keen and boundless gratitude is precisely what led on the 1st of June in 1913 to the inauguration of one of the most beautiful and grandiose equestrian monuments ever dedicated to him. The

lossal, but proportionate, stone base. With its unbridled mount and the solemn sword pointed towards Rome,

piece, an immortal masterpiece, just like the History of Italy. It was created by Antonio Garella (1863-1919), a sculptor from Ferrara, and it was inaugurated in the presence of a group of Garibaldi veterans, the city authorities and a large crowd. The ceremony took

Gardens, right in front of that same big building, a former hotel which now houses the headquarters of the Ammiragliato, where he once stayed before being hospitalized.

A few people know that Garibaldi, heroic military exploits aside, is surprisingly responsible for a fashion item: the oldest jeans ever worn are preserved in the Central Museum of the Risorgimento in Rome, in a Victorian display case. These are the same jeans worn by the General: they are more than 150 years old and they are made from authentic canvas fabric from Genoa. These exact same trousers, worn at ankle length under the famous red shirt, accompanied Garibaldi during his landing at Marsala with the Thousand. Incredibly enough, on the left knee of these jeans, there is a denim patch to cover a rip: today, knee ripped jeans are a valued fashion item among younger generations.

Moda, qualità e convenienza!

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THE BRILLIANT MINDS OF THE SPEZZINITÀ (“LA SPEZIA’S ESSENCE”)

The brilliant and talented sculptor Angiolo Del Santo (1882-1938) was deservedly designated to celebrate Ubaldo Mazzini (1868-1923), whose absolute genius is the emblem of La Spezia: this premise explains the precious bronze bust that stands in plain view in the ciMonumental Public Gardens, at the edges of the most central street. Who were these two eminent men?

Angiolo Del Santo was a pupil of Arturo Dazzi (->Mulazzo) at the Academy of Fine Arts in

Ubaldo Mazzini

masterpieces that are exclusively preserved in the Lunigiana Storica territory, with the only exception of the Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno, Genoa; this is because the near presenfrom Turin, hindered the popularity that Del Santo should have certainly deserved. In thesement Vittoria Alata (“Winged Victory”), located here in La Spezia, and the marvellous Anacarsi morente (“Dying Anacarsi”), in Licciana Nardi. Ubaldo Mazzini had an eclectic mind: he wasdonym of Gamin, he obtained a degree in law at the University of Pavia, he was one of the

major scholars on the subject of archeolo-

territory. He was both founder and editor of the Giornale storico e letterario della Li-spaper”), which later became the Giornale Storico della Lunigiana -

brilliant vernacular poet, writing in the local spezzino dialect. He was also a gifted Dante scholar, so much so that he was dedicated the Largo dei Dantisti Spezzini (“Square of -

ilt right in front of the entrance of the Lia Museum upon suggestion of the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi (“Lunigianese Centre of Dante Studies”). Mazzini was Civic Library, which is dedicated to him. He was also director of the Museo Civico, and he contributed to the expansion of its archeological section, Statues menhir were concerned. Thanks to his pioneering research, the statues drew the attention of scholars from all over Europe. Unfortunately, the poet and scholar died unexpectedly and rather prematurely. The fact that this beautiful bronze bust was inaugurated on the 12th of July in 1925,

who was also a zealous Republican.

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LA SPEZIA - WAGNERIAN CITY

With the monument dedicated to Richard Wagner (Leipzig, 1813 – Venice, 1883) La one of the greatest composers of all time, whose precious legacy has been preserved by the city. The exquisite bronze piece, which

Richard Wagner

tribute, was rather generously donated to the city by the artist, Russian sculptor Aidyn Zeinalov (Moscow, 1978). The sculpture was inaugurated on the 15th of March in 2019, but the idea of a monument dedicated to Wagner had been around since 2013, the

year that marked the foundation of the Wagner La Spezia Festival®, which was established by the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi on the occasion of

It is important to mention some past events. On the 5th of September in 1853, the great musician stopped over in the city after a rough sea journey on a ship coming from Genoa. During that night, in which he was tormented by the usual persisting illness, he had, as by magic, the inspiration for the prelude of Das Rheingold, which until then he had been unable to compose. It was the introduction to the entire tetralogy of The Ring of the Nibelung: Wagner had been

theme to that immense poem (over 15 hours) in which music and phantasmagorical scenarios mix. During that agonizing half-sleep, the recollection of the noise of the waves crashing against the ship dragged him into a dreamy state of deep immersion.That intense feeling was to become the dance scene of the little waves on the bottom of the Rhine at the beginning of Act I; the idea for the prelude came magically to him that very night in the shape of an incredible . In his autobiography, Wagner himself describes the result of that creative experience with these words: «A sound […] dissolved in continuously rolling arpeggios». As Professor Giuseppe Benelli rightly said, it is the Chord of La Spezia His visit to the city was a strange and -

cting emotions: for this very reason it is safe to say that La Spezia is a Wagnerian City in its own right. Bayreuth, home of the most important Wagnerian festival in the world, has a particular reverence for its sister city La Spezia. Nowadays, after the inauguration of the monument, the city is waiting for the launch of the La Spezia Wagner Festival: if it is promoted on a European level, it can represent an immeasurably valuable opportunity for tourism. The project in itself is easily feasible: all it takes is to commit to its actualisation.

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La Contessa di Castiglione

THE COUNTESS OF CASTIGLIONE

Virginia Oldoini Verasis, better known as the Countess of Castiglione (1837-1899), was a noblewoman and patriot. She was the daughter of marquis Filippo Oldoini from La Spezia and marquise Isabella Lamporecchi. Her mother was Camillo Benso a relative of the De Nobili marquises from Vezzano Ligure. One of Virginialazzo De Nobili, in the very central young age, she married Francesco Verasis Asinari, earl of Costigliole her byname. The marriage soon gave Virginia the opportunity to visit the Court of Savoy, where she had a successful encounter with King Vittorio Emanuele II.

It has been said that thanks to the connection with the Savoy, the incredibly charming countess was able to meet some of the greatest personalities of the time, such as banker de Rothschild. Cavour himself soon took notice of her sophisticated qualities and in 1855 he had the bright idea to send her on a mission to Napoleon

alliance between France and Piedmont. Her Parisian stay turned out favourably for the government of the Reign and the Countess always remembered the French capital as the place where she lived the real dream.

She was extremely vain and she used her charm on many high rank men. She allegedly kept a diary written in her lovers by assigning them speci-

who made promises with an innocent kiss to those she was intimate with.

Virginia always regretted having married because she was fully con-

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vinced that she could have easily become the Queen of France. She of time and she lived the rest of her life with an increasing resentment. She grew angry at the fact that her beautiful women was fading away. to a marginal position. She stubbornly decided to stay in Paris, where she often lived above her means. She remained in the city where she had realistically dreamt about reaching the very top of the pyramid: the conquest of the imperial court. She loved herself more than she years, she collaborated with photographer Pierre-Louis Pierson, who captured her in a hundred of poses. One of these photographs,

shot in which Oldoini is elevated to being one of the greatest models of all time, inspired sculptor Francesco Vaccarone to create the bronze bust that was installed in 2001 at the entrance of Palazzo De Nobili, as commissioned by the municipality administration. This piece of work captures the eternally restless spirit of the Countess, who constantly, tirelessy and desperately tried to make people talk about her. Now that her memory belongs to the eternity of History, we would

having a rest.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ADRIANA BEVERINI, La Rapallina, ambasciatrice di gusto e bellezza. La Contessa di Castiglione tra Parigi e il suo joli golfe, La Spezia, Edizioni Giacché, 2021.

ARRIGO PETACCO, L’amante dell’imperatore. Amori, intrighi e segreti della contessa di Castiglione, Milano, Mondadori, 2001.

THE GUARDIAN OF THE CITY

Contrarily to what too many people think, the emblem of La Spezia is not the Naval Base: the sprugolino (“little chasm”) has always been overshadowed by the San Giorgio Castle, a structure of obvious Genoese origins that should be proclaimed the emblem of the city once and for all. During the extraordinarily creative period of urban development called Roaring Twenties, referring to the painful to think that a century later nothingness reigns!), the historic buLiberty and Futurist style, were developed at the foot of the castle. Among them, the massiveness of the former San Giorgio hotel stands out. We are in Via del Torretto, precisely

with the sculpture of the countess of Castiglione): the building, designed by the great architect Franco Oliva (1885-1955), is embellished with frie-tor Augusto Magli (1890-1962), who was also active in ->Bagnone. Next to the main door, you can admire the exquisite Bassorilievo delle Ancelle (“Bas relief of maids”). Two Michelangelo-style Junoesque maids carry bread and wine, in reference to the Gospel: there is a preciousness to it. But there is also a lot to be said about the upper part. In the large niche at roof level, a soldier in a medieval armour stands upright. People rarely notice him from the street. He is holding his longsword in a vertical position, on the head of the defeated dragon. This majestic Saint George is like a sentinel in the watchtower who, facing the Gulf and turning his back on the castle, establishes himself as the perpetual guardian of the city. An extraordinary intuition that is elostyle.

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33

Vittoria Alata di A. Del Santo

THE TRIUMPH ON GORGO

The Monumento ai Caduti della Grande Guerra (“World War I Memorial”) is a large high-relief that seems to be emerging from a stone wall with an acute angle shape, supported by a three step pedestal. The base was designed by architect Oreste Rossi so as to better complement the shape of the bronze by Angiolo del Santo (1882-1938), which was initially placed in a corner of the city hall beforetalia (“Square of Italian sailors”) in the Monumental Public Gardens, right in front of the Capitaneria di

On that occasion, two bronze tiles by sculptor Arduino Ambrosini were added to the side of the statue in remembrance of World War II victims. This winged Victory, inaugurated in 1922, is porher right foot, in an act of triumph. Arching her body, she rises the typical oak and laurel branches composition to the sky. These were typical symbols of Strength and Glory. We can also see them in the Victory of ->Bagnone, who is also holding a palm branch as a symbol of the achieved peace. This piece of work, with a sinuous and graceful line, art (as seen both in the Boschetti Cemetery in La Spezia and in the Monumental Cemetery of Stagliegreatest outcomes, especially given the important allegorical layout. It is hard to think that the inclusion of the Medusa theme has nothing to do with the famous Dantesque reference in Inf IX. The eyes of Gorgo, who obviously symbolizes war, are wide open and absent. Her gaze has been neutralised by the triumph of Victory.

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La Sirenetta del Golfo

THE MERMAID WHO WAS NEVER HERE

La Spezia has a mythology connected to a Mermaid. Before touching on that, -

already discussed, but also the naturalistic research carried out by geologist Giovanni Capellini, the historical research on Statues menhir led by Ubaldo

sent by Guglielmo Marconi in the Gulf, but also the English Romantic writers

All these elements contributed to making the city a magnet for people from all over the continent.

In light of this, the theme of the Mermaid, a character Denmark grew to love thanks to Hans Christian Andersen, might have represented in the mind of Russian sculptor Aidyn Zeinalov (Moscow, 1978, also author of ->Wagner) an ideal link between La Spezia and its innate European dimension. Or maybe, who knows, the key to the interpretation is hidden in the legend of Atalanta a mermaid which is now preserved at the Naval Museum of the Navy in La Spezia. According to the legend, anyone who stared at it for too long, fell inscended into madness and eventually

just like a mermaid, can bewitch and kill. Located on Passeggiata (“Promenade”) Morin, the long tree-lined pier, the Mermaid in the Gulf was inaugurated in March 2018. As in the case of

to the city by the artist himself. It portrays a young specimen of the marine creature as it seats on a typical chair, a carèga, to use a vernacular term, in the style of the great Ubaldo Mazzini. The typical chair, which many retired locals like to spend a lot of time on when they sit by the sea, is here occupied by the mesmerising Mermaid. Has she just sat or is she about to get up? Is it an invitation to sit down or to diligently resume the journey? It is left to us to decide, following our own instinct.

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Giuseppe Mazzini

ITALY: UNITED YET REPUBLICAN

The monument to Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872) was erected on the Passo della Foce in 1914 thanks to the contribution of local people and to the commitment of the local Mutual Aid Society. In 2014, the 100th anniversary was celebrated with an important day of studies, meaning that it is not just a mere training of values that still exist. The idiots who label as “sovereignists” those people who of the ideal of the Homeland are neutralized by the words of our great fathers and by the countless souls of the martyrs and heroes to whom we owe the legacy of this beautiful and restless nation. The discovery of a marble portrait of Giuseppe as true Italians. The “fake” Italians are the real problem: frankly, they should step aside and we should help them in this sense.

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the romantic interpretation of Dante-the political thinker in his essay Dell’amor patrio in Dante (1826), which is considered

based on secularism and unity. This tradition drew inspiration from the famous passage «Of the fair land there where the Si doth sound» (Inf XXXIII 79-80). The Dante-Mazzini relationship quickly took onnoese intellectual became the greatest

The republican model of the State was a concept that Mazzini took from Kant with vigorous determination. It is thought that he was committed to “Italianising Piedmont, not Piedmontising Italy”. He even went against Garibaldi (La Spezia) in his aim to establish a new Constitution while discarding the idea of extending the Statuto Albertino to the entire national territory. Only the pragmatic Cavour (Levanas “a den of burnt brains”. In their own way and with their own ideas, the three great Fathers of the Homeland are the ones that we have just mentioned: Mazzini the theorist; Cavour the strategist and Garibaldi (the operational arm) the hero.

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LERICI (Sp)

Dantesque epigraph in Bellavista, the Silvestri’s Dante Hamlet details

We refer to Lerici as one of the two Pearls of the Gulf of Poets. However, originally the Gulf later that playwright Sem Benelli broadened the meaning of the expression that he himself had invented. Since then, the whole cove of the incomparably beautiful Gulf of La Spezia has been inspiring exceptional authors. A big name of the Twentieth Century, Giovanni Giudici, was born right on the other shore, in Portovenere. Even though the impetuous swim that brought English poet Lord Byron from

Portovenere to Lerici might be a fabrication of history, this itineray is now the location of an international long distance swimming race: this is an example of pure poetry in its own way.

It has been said that Lerici has Greek roots and that it is directly connected to the town of Erice, a town of Magna Graecia in Sicily. Ubaldo Mazzini, the greatest historian in La Spezia, believed that the name derived from leccio (“holly oak”), a distinctive species of Me-pears on the municipal coat of arms.

to ever immortalise Lerici, in the famous passage of Pur III 49-50, which appears on the monument ->Epigraph in Bellavista. The Hungarian baroness Emma Orczy (1865-1947) wrote the successful literary saga The Scarlet Pimpernel (which is considered to be the predecessor of the spy ) exactly in the Bellavista area. She had Villa La Padula (which remains to this day) built for her. This house – as she wrote - «offers one of the best views on God’s Earth». She frequently stayed here with her family from 1927 to 1933. When

Fascism came to power, she regretfully sold the house and permanently moved to Monte Carlo. Poets Paolo Bertolani (1931–2007) and Francesco Tonelli (1925 -2017) were born in Lerici. Among the personalities who are still with us, we should mention Angelo Tonelli, a world renowned Greek scholar, and Giovanni Bilotti. Do not miss the beautiful and convenient seafront Promenade, the peculiar carugi (the typical alleys of Ligurian villages, with many small shops and restaurants), the uphill walk to the majestic Pisan-Genoese Castle. In the morning, from the small port at the foot of the massive castle, you can see -

ts to La Spezia, the Islands and Portovenere. The above mentioned seafront promenade connects Lerici to Venere Azzurra (“Light blue Venus”), a historic rival of Portovenere, the village that magically touches the sea. A very romantic spot is the Belvedere clearing, where on summer evenings you can snuggle on a bench under the stars and wait for the Lighthouse on the Tino island - which

this corner of the world, more precisely from a turret in the unrivalled Villa Marigola, Sem Benelli conceived the expression “Gulf of Poets”. Swiss painter Arnold Böcklin (18271901) stayed at Villa Marigola as well. Here, he allegedly took inspiration for his Island of the Dead, one of his timeless masterpieces,

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by his lodging. The vast and safe sandy beach below is a gathering spot for young surfers who come here from all over Europe, even in the colder months.

The promenade leads to San Terenzo, on theler castle. Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) and his wife Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin (1797-1851), better known as Mary Shelley, in Villa Magni, in 1822. The “beautiful white house” still overlooks the sea: this pure white building bears poet Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi the tragic death of the English poet, when «Da questo portico su cui si abbatteva/l’antica ombra di un leccio/il luglio del MDCCCXII/Mary Godwin e Jane Williams attesero con lagrimante ansia/PERCEY BYSSHE SHELLEY/che da Livorno su fragil legno veleggiando/era approdato per improvvisa fortuna/ai silenzi delle isole elisee./O benedette spiagge/ove l’amore, la libertà, i sogni/non hanno catene», («From this porch/ which is shaded by an old holly oak/ in July of MDCCCXII/Mary Godwin and Jane Williams waited in a state of tearful anxiety/ for PERCEY BYSSHE SHELLEY/who sailing from Leghorn on fragile wood/came by sudden fortune/to the silent Elysean Isles./Oh blessed beaches/where love, freedom and dreams/have no chains»). In May 1933, Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) lodged in San Terenzo as well. She was fascinated by everything that surrounded her and she wrote lovely words: «Lerici is warm and bright blue. It adds a touch of perfection to the Gulf, to the calm sea, to the green sai-

ling ships, to the isles and to the sparkling, eva-

Another amazing district is the village of Tellaro. Here, writer Mario Soldati (1906-1999) was literally blown away by the beauty of the place: he came to these beaches from Turin searching for H.D. Lawrence of unreleased works (never to be found) and he permanently settled in a villa with park, near Frieda von Richthofen (1879-1956), the English writer lived in Fiascherino for almost two years, from 1913 to 1914, in a house by the sea, still existing today. The baroness was a distant relative of Manfred, the famous “Red Baron”, a legendary hero of the German Air Force. In Tellaro, the legend of the octopus bell ringer, which on to this day. According to it, one night, a big octopus reached the ropes of the church bell

it raised the alarm and thus avoided the incursion of Saracen pirates.

The Sagra del polpo (“Octopus fest”) is the villaancient popular legend.

Another mandatory experience is the uphill walk to Solaro, the area on the crest of Monte Canarbino, from where you can appreciate the most spectacular view on the Gulf of La Spezia and its archipelago.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CARLA SANGUINETI, Figlia dell’amore e della luce. Mary Shelley nel golfo dei Poeti, Genova, Sagep, 2000.

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DANTESQUE EPIGRAPH IN BELLAVISTA

Is an epigraph a monument? Absolutely yes! If it has a place, it deserves to be honoured. If it is a Dantesque epigraph, there can be no question as to its importance. Furthermore, the epigraph in Bellavista was put up in that place which according to writer Emma Orczy God’s Earth»

in Pur III, where Lerici is mentioned in lines and responsibility of Associazione Erix. Dante was not merely mentioning a place; the itinerary that goes from Lerici to “La Turbie”, – a village that in Roman times, past Ventimiglia, marked the border between Italy and Gaul with its still existing Tropaeum Alpium (“Trophy of the Alps”), in honour of Augustus – is the same that appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana, a medieval copy of a military chart from the Roman Empire era (ca. II century AD) that reads next to the Gulf of La Spezia

In Alpe Pennino u. Boron

Next to these words, the chart shows a short zig zagged road leading to Genoa.

hypotheses, the mistery of the geographical position of this legendary Roman site

was solved by Ferruccio Egori (1917-1999), an autonomous historian from Massa, who interpreted this passage as “In Alpe Pennino u[sque] Boron”, meaning ‘through the Apen-tain east of Nice. This ancient road map was simply showing the right way: it is the path on the Apennine ridge, which today we call Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (“High Route of the Ligurian Mountains”) (->Val di Vara), that goes as far as the Maritime Alps border. With regard to XIV century geography, it do-

to an itinerary via land (like in the Peutinger Table), or an itinerary via sea, as the same passage of Pur III seems to clearly indicate, when it describes the steep Ligurian coasts (which would be like a convenient stairway compared to the steep slope of Mount of Purgatory, which Dante and Virgilio were about to conquer): what really matters is that Alighieri knew exactly how the military cartography of imperial Rome, from a thousand years earlier, looked like!

If anyone still thinks that this is a minor event, keep in mind that the itinerary of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri begins in Ceparana (->Val di Vara), the extremely ancient Boaceas mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, and that the path on the ridge is the prehistoric Herculea which Strabo wrote about!

All of this was at the centre of an extremely

accurate research carried out within the last years by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies, which contributed to fully erase an extended yet fruitless historical literature.

which until then had only been recognized by the great Ennio Silvestri (1920-1986); secondly, the Dantesque passage was analysed and compared to other references to France inside the Divine Comedy: as a result, it validated

mentioned by Giovanni Boccaccio (->Ameglia). -

tras: Dante joined the Italian delegation of cardinals (to whom he gave Epistle XI by hand) in an attempt to promptly restore the papal see in Rome. Dante probably embarked from Lerici to join the other prelates; it is no coincidence that he makes a reference to

Malaspina ( ) in that same letter addressed to the Cardinals.

From Lerici, he disembarked in the French Riviera, and from there he set out to visit the French territory and the Tropaeum Alpium in La Turbie (that is why he mentions

Ogni giorno la tua spesa di qualità.

The idea of the Trophy nicely matches the beautiful desire for «Peace, peace…», which Dante expressed to friar Ilario when he met him in the Santa Croce del Corvo Monastery, before leaving for France.

On that occasion, he gave the good monk an autographed copy of Inferno to be delivered to Uguccione della Faggiuola, to whom it was dedicated (->Ameglia).

mention Port Hercules the designated destination of his sea journey. While Dante refers to Lerici as his precise place of depar-

«A Corvo scilicet usque ad Portum herculeo, ut quondam putant, nomine consecratum».

As stated by Dante himself in Par River (->Valley of Magra) the border that separates the Genoese from the Tuscans?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENNIO SILVESTRI, L’equivoco di Boron cronaca della Spezia, 25 ottobre 1978, poi in Ameglia nella Storia della Lunigiana, II ed., Ameglia, 1982, nota 62.

FERRUCCIO EGORI, L’equivoco di Boron 1983, n. 5, pp. 57-64.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Sul viaggio di Dante a Parigi, su

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THE GIANT OF INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM

Dante is a bust made of Carrara marble by Giuseppe Silvestri

The inauguration of the work, which was largely made possible by the support of a local patron, the entrepreneur Attilio Bencaster, took place on December 30th 2021. It was a cherished conclusion to the celebrations

of Dante in Lunigiana. The ceremony was accompanied by a reading by Professor Francesco De Nicola, president of the Genoese committee of the Dante Alighieri Society, who illustratedting from Lerici, as in the recon-

struction of the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies. If the other two regional monuments dedicated to Dante (->Mulazzo and ->Villafranca) clearly

this one in Lerici looks like an ostentatious display, with a face that essentially conforms to the reconstruction made by the anthropologist Mallegni (like the one in Villafranca), but with noticeably emphasised features.

stic” Dante. However, the bulk of this

plexity as to make one think of an example of Neo-Baroque that pursues originality at any cost.

Having said that, a closer look reveals an important element of wisdom. Considering the work in the precise context of its location, it is a beautiful addition to the seaside gardens of a town which is waiting for better times. That is right, when the Philosophy festivals come to an end, the times are anything but good. This version of Dante, pointing at the coat of arms of the seaside town represented in a large open book, seems to be

But who is Dante addressing? Not the passer-by, but someone on his side, above from him. And to this invisible, -

dicating not his own verses from Lerici (those famous verses of Pur III referred to in the ->Epigraph of Bellavista), but the Coat of Arms of the town, and therefore all the duties and responsi-

The message is clear: in order to apexamples of intellectual freedom we need the Iustus ordo. This is truly a great lesson.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MANUGUERRA MIRCO, Sul viaggio di Dante a Parigi, «Atrium – Studi Meta134-158.

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PORTOVENERE (Sp)

The emblem of the Madonna Bianca, Mater Naturae and Stella

Maris

Hamlet details

Portus Veneris appeared in a maritime chart which was drawn up upon request of emperor Antoninus Pius in 161 AD (“Itinerarium Antonini”). The toponym comes from the temple of the goddess, whose remains can be seen today in the small Church of San Pietro, a world famous gem.

Throughout the VI century, the worthy Saint Venerius, patron saint of the Gulf and protector of lighthouse keepers, founded a hermitage on the Tino island, which was destined to play an important role in the following centuries. It is no coincidence that the “Isola delMeriggio, 1903):

[…] Pel chiaro silenzio il Capo Corvo l’isola del Faro scorgo; …

“In this bright silence I catch sight of Capo Corvo and of the Lighthouse island; …

Tino, whose name emphasizes its peculiar shape, was supposedly the inspiration for the famous painting The Island of the Dead, an extra-

piece. The artist, Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901) lodged in Lerici. The vestiges of the abbey of San Venerio are still well preserved and can be visited every 13th of September, on the occasion of

During the Bronze Age, people were already

familiar with the Palmaria island: its Grotta dei Colombi (“Cave of Pigeons”) had been used as a burial site for a long time (->La Spezia, Museum of the San Giorgio Castle). As far as the Tinetto island is concerned, we know that a hermitage was located here in the V-VI century and that its vestiges are one of the most ancient examples of early Christian worship in Lunigiana. Slightly south of Tinetto, the ->Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”) emerges from the water: it stands on the insidious Secca del Diavolo

being seriously damaged, especially during low tides. The Torre Scola islet (which a lot of people tend to forget about) completes of Genoa at the beginning of the XVII century and it is still a military garrison today. The Archipelago of the Gulf of La Spezia

tourist guide published in 2002, see Bibliography; before that, the commonly used name was “Islands of the Gulf of La Spezia”) is an integral part of Portovenere Regional Nature Park, which also includes a vast Marine Protected Area.

The entire territory has been a World Heritage Site since 1998.

The village of Portovenere, which was ori-

skilled seafarers, was attacked by the Longobards led by king Rothari in 643 AD; however, during the Carolingian Renaissance the village continued to play a fundamental role as a port of call and in 801, it was chronicled that a sultan sent an elephant by boat as a present to Charlemagne, who had just been crowned emperor. Like many other Ligurian villages, Portovenere had to repeatedly deal with the incursions of Norman and Saracen ships between the IX and XI century. Later, around the year 1000 AD, it fell under the control of the Lords of Vezzano and, subsequently (XII century), under the aegis of the almighty Republic of Genoa. The Republic demanded its appropriation to counter the the other great Maritime Republic of the time.

In that same period, the southern tip of the Arpaia promontory (home to the the San Lorenzo (“St. Lawrence”) Church and the new village (castrum novum) were built. The castrum novum had a system of house towers overlooking the rocks that protected the whole urban structure, and large walls with three towers, which have remained well preserved throughout the years.

During the XIII century, the defeat of the in 1241, was followed in 1242 by a falof the Riviera di Levante. This coast was Poema della Vittoria (“Poem of Victory”), written in Latin hexameters between 1245 and 1248 by notary Ursone da Vernazza, who was a great connoisseur of these places. A few years later, in 1244, he stopped by Portovenere, on return from Civitavecchia, the IV (then known as Sinibaldo Fieschi). The pope escaped an ambush led by the heretic emperor and, fearing for his safety, he decided to head to Lyon, where he convened a Council. This was the beginning of the Avignon Papacy, which tormented

Via Lungomare, 111 - Le Grazie, Portovenere (SP) Tel. +39 0187.790797 / 98

Il Ristorante della Baia propone una cucina mediterranea di mare e di terra senza compromessi, leggerissima e profumata, al giusto prezzo.

Our restaurant “ Ristorante della Baia” offers, light, aromatic surf-and-turf Mediterranean cuisine accompanied by excellent wines, at very reasonable prices.

Typical Dishes •

Guizzi di Mare

Piatti

Tipici

Our great father Dante wrote about Portovenere. Ironically, he did so in a passage about its ultimate rival ->Leri-

the overhanging Ligurian coasts described in Pur III 49-50 with the coastline that goes from Portovenere to Tramonti

where the Orrido del Muzzerone, a 300 metre chasm reminiscent of the famousce, where nowadays you can rock climbing gym, can be reached by taking the road that goes from Le Grazie to Monte Castellana.

From the XIV century to Nawent through many vicissituroad that connects the maritime village to La Spezia, and which is still named “la Napoleonica”, was built upon the

It is thanks to this new road that on the 28th of March in 1869 F.W.C. Trafford hiked on the Castellana. In a famous esreferred to the experience as an , in the sky in its entirety, from Greenland to Siberia, from Australia to Cape Horn and as far as the North Pole. Based on this experience, he drew up a chart that was described by the great geologist Giovanni Capellini (18331922) from La Spezia, as “created on the meridian of La Spezia”.

Right after the stormy Napoleonic period, which led to a new layout of Europe, English and German intellectuals, following Go-

the English Romantics. It is a given fact that Shelley stayed in San Terenzo ->Lerici; there

is a strong popular belief according to which Lord Byron, who is looked upon as a lehero, has a connection with Portovenere. The poet, who was a skilled swimmer, allegedly swam from the cave (today, named after him), located next to the Church of San Pietro, to San Terenzo beach, where he was going to visit the Shelleys. A cross swimming race of international prestige has been taking place along that same itinerary every year for the last 40 years: the Byron Cup. The beautiful bronze statue dedicated to ->Mother Nature can be admired on the rocks overlooking

The Sentiero Verde (“Green Path”) is a ridge itinerary going from Portovenere to ->Lein the Orrido del Muzzerone, is covered by

RISTORANTE

enchanting woods that abound with cork oaks. If you look at this area from above, you can see that the sea surface has got some strange patches of a lighter colour: these are freshwater currents gushing out from the seabed. The most experienced scuba divers come to this spot to drink underwater.

Every year on the 17th of August, Portovenere celebrates the Madonna Bianca (“White Madonna”). In the early evening, the precious icon, – which is part of ->San Lorenzo Treasure – is paraded around the village. Thousands of oil lamps are lit in the San Pietro Promontory, giving the nocturnal landscape an unspeakably beautiful atmosphere: the large crowd walking up andunmissable.

In summer, the Portovenere Canal is shut for navigation to give everyone the priceless opportunity to swim in an enormous natural swimming pool.

In the Le Grazie district, the ancient building of Varignano is now the headquarters

Raiders Group Command), which reprethe past, the building was a lazaret before being converted into a military hospital. It accommodated Garibaldi as an injured prisoner on two occasions (->La Spezia). Le Grazie was the native village of poet Giovanni Giudici (1924-2011), one of the major representatives of Italian hermetic poetry in the second half of the 20th century. Mondadori dedicated one of its famous Meridiani to him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

UBALDO FORMENTINI, Monumenti di Porto Venere, restauri 1929-1934cademia Lunigianense di Scienze, La Spezia, 1934.

URSONE NOTAIO, Poema della vittoria, cura e traduzione di Roberto Centi, Fabbiani, La Spezia, 1993.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Charta Magna, Sarzana, Luna Nova Editrice, 2002.

Caratteristico localino intimo e senza tempo, situato all’interno del piccolo “carruggio” centrale. I piatti, tra tradizione e modernità, sono a base di prodotti del territorio e elaborate dal sapore internazionale. Da non perdere i dessert preparati dalle sapienti mani della nostra Pasticcera.

Tiny, characteristic,cosy and timeless restaurant, situated in the narrow central alley “carrugio” of the village. Offers traditional and modern dishes made with local products of the territory such as mussels from La Spezia and even more elaborate international dishes. Not to be missed are the desserts made by the skillfull hands of the bakers of our Patisserie.

La Madonna Bianca

THE MIRACULOUS ICON

Every 17th of August, the village of Portovenere dives into the religious celebration of the Madonna Bianca, an icon that has been worshipped for centuries not only by locals but also from other communities. The celebration begins in the San Lorenzo Church, where the parchment depicting the Virgin with her Treasure is kept. Towards evening, the sacred image is carried on an ark across every street of the historical village. Later, after sunset, thousands of small lamps, which have been previously scattered in the sea and along the entire sea stack on top of which the Church of San Pietro stands an astounding sight: the people walking up and down the stairway of the temple

stairway, and it seems like, at any minute, a scornful Farinata degli Uberti might appear from the waist up from the surrounding rocks. A unique, incomparable Dantesque show in its own right: the Madonna Bianca in Portovenere is a world class event.

The religious cult is connected to the Miracle of the Madonna Bianca, which occurred one evening on the 16th of August in 1399, in the house of a man called Lucciardo. He owned the Marian image which is thought to have arrived in Portovenere via sea in 1204, on a Lebanese cedar trunk which was carved like a boat. This same trunk can now be seen on the wall of the left aisle in the San Lorenzo Church. In the middle of the plague, Lucciardo was praying in front of another Marian icon when he noticed that an old and blackened image started to gradually gain colour. The man began shouting that it was a mi-

racle and a lot of his fellow villagers immediately rushed to his house. Among them, the parish priests of the S. Lorenzo and S. Pietro churches, and even notary Giovanni di Michele di Vernazza, who comprehensively documented this extraordinary event -

Child and the two saints (Christopher and Anthony the Abbot) distinctly emerged; afterwards, the Madonna joined her hands in prayer and a piece of paper appeared in the hand of the Child. This written message was a call to conversion: «“Madre mia, ciò che te piace me contenta, purch’el peccatore del mal far se penta”py to do as you want, as far as the sinner shows repentance for his evil deeds”). The notary transcribed the testimony in the presence of sixty witnesses, men and women from the village, who had followed the long sequence of events along with him. The document he wrote is preserved in a 1672 manuscript, which is kept in the San Lorenzo Church, where the icon was

of the 15th century, the sacred image of the Madonna Bianca, who had become the patron saint of Portovenere, was placed at the centre of a monumental sculpture by the master Mino da Fiesole, which can be still admired today. There is nothing mythical about the story of the Madonna Bianca, even though the term myth is often associated to this event: it was publicly documented on the spot and it is therefore a validated historical fact.

A very rare example of a miracle which we have solid proof of.

THE WAIT

The voluptuous Mother Nature is staring at the faraway horizon while she is sitting in front of the romantic cave from where, according to popular belief, Byron swam towards San Terenzo. The cave is protected by the promontory where the Church of San Pietro, an ancient temple of Venus of Rome, Goddess of Beauty, has been defying the waves for more than a thousand years. Mother

the prehistoric and so-called “obese Venuses”, but we would like to rather think of them as “pregnant Venuses”, thus as symbols of fertility rather than abundance. Here, the Woman, the leading symbol of Nature and its unequivocal laws, is carrying a new life and she is persingle source of abundance: the sea, the immense and dangerous sea. Her mysterious look is eternally suspended in time. How not -

gerly waiting to catch sight of the beloved, familiar sails at the horizon? She is not unsettled: after all, if we are able to see her, it means that the weather is good and the sea is calm; the wait is peaceful so far. It is surely no coincidence that in the San Lorenzo Church, high -

tant historical collection of sailors ex-voto: the women of the village trusted in the Madonna Bianca for the return of their men. That is why we chose “The wait” as the subheading for this amazing bronze Mater Naturae created by Neapolitan sculptor (1921–1997) in 1989. It will survive through millennia of human history without ever changing. A true masterpiece.

Via Olivo 29 - PORTOVENERE (SP) +39 347 2601008 - info@pizzeriailtimone.it

www.pizzeriailtimone.it

Il Timone è la giusta meta per gustare i sapori e le atmosfere della cucina ligure: dall’orto di Portovenere arrivano verdure e olio per offrire qualità e sapori unici. Ideale per un aperitivo offerto dalle 18,00 in poi con vini e gastronomia ligure o per una cena dai più diversi toni.

Il Timone is the right destination to enjoy the flavours and atmosphere of the Ligurian cuisine: vegetables and oil of high quality and unique flavours come directly from our vegetable garden in Portovenere. It is the ideal place to enjoy your aperitif from 6 p.m. onwards, with Ligurian wines and delicatessen, or for a dinner with a variety of options.

Stella Maris

THE VIRGIN OF THE GULF

In the San Lorenzo Church of Portovenere, there is an important historical collection of sailors ex voto: the women of the village used to trust in the Madonna Bianca for the return of their men from sea. As a consequence of this ancient cultural tradition, a Virgin Mary statue, white as snow (made from Carrara marble), was chosen, instead of an ordinary construction, to warn of the presence of a dangerously semi-submerged shoal.

The theme of the Stella Maris (“Star of the Sea”) is an incredibly ancient tradition: the name refers to , the Polar Star that has been guiding seafarers since always. In the same way, the Virgin is the anchor of every good Christian.

The Stella Maris in Portovenere is a beautiful Marian statue that rises above the waves in front of the Tinetto island, the extreme tip in the Archipelago of the Gulf of La Spezia. The icon stands on top of a submerged mountain, a particularly insidious islet that never emerged, called “Rock of the Devil” by seafarers because of how dangerous it could be during low tides.

The Statue, representing Mary while she is absorbed in prayer,

Capitaneria di Porto (“Harbour

on the occasion of the blessing ceremony, hundreds of boats greeted the Virgin with their mer-

In the world, there is always a reason to hope: the Stella Maris represents that very reason for the entire Gulf of La Spezia.

Siamo nel cuore di Portovenere, la struttura medioevale dell’Antica Osteria è il naturale completamento della nostra autentica cucina ligure. Piatti della tradizione, olio evo di Portovenere e materia prima del nostro orto vi aspettano.

Located in the heart of Portovenere, the medieval structure of the Antica Osteria is the natural conclusion to a journey through the authentic Ligurian cuisine. Traditional dishes, olive oil from Portovenere and raw ingredients from our vegetable garden are waiting for you. Via Capellini

THE VALLEY OF MAGRA

Its history through the Millennia

Dante called the main river of Lunigiana river is still declined. More than a thousand years earlier, Strabo already talked about this watercourse, which originates on the slopes of Mount Cirone, in the area east of the Cisa Pass, when he stawere carried from the mountains to the valley via the river [1]. Even though nobody ever mentioned the presence of large shipyards in the glorious Portus lunae, their existence can be taken for granted: history indicates that there was a trade of a precious marble, which was destined for the patrician villas of the entire empithe greatest geographer of antiquity, mentioned Boaceas

and river Vara, as an ancient market site where the Apennine route that today we call Alta Via dei Monti Liguri (“High Route of the Ligurian Mountains”) originated. The Magra has been a clear geographical border since the Republican era: no general was allowed to cross the Rubicon-Macra border with his troops without prior permission from the Senate of Rome. Venturing into this territory without permission would have been interpreted as limit within which it was possible to organise the defence of the Urbe (“City”). When Julius Caesar led his army across the border, he encouraged his loyal supporters to follow him: this was a true “March on Rome” and a thousand years later, Benito Mussolini, who grew up on those shores, showed to have a very good knowledge

WE

OIL - WINE - HONEY

TREAT YOURSELF TO A SPECIAL GIFT HAVE A TASTE OF LIGURIA LIVE OUR EXPERIENCES

AMIAMO IL NOSTRO TERRITORIO E METTIAMO IL CUORE IN OGNI NOSTRO PRODOTTO

OLIO - VINO - MIELE

FATTI UN REGALO UNICO ASSAPORA LA LIGURIA VIVI LE NOSTRE ESPERIENZE

of the History of Italy. Undoubtedly, had Caesar been on the Tyrrhenian coast instead of the Adriatic one, the History of Italy and Lunigiana would have been ra5th century, general Honorius, who later became emperor, established a defensive line against barbarian invasions and chose the imaginary borderline that linked the Rubicon to the Macra. This same border became the Byzantine demarcation line in the 7th century, and it was also used during World War II by the German

coming from the South: the Headquarters in Chief of the Gothic Line on the Tyrrhenian coast was established in the

Monastery of Corvo in -> Bocca di Magra. During the Byzantine era, when Lunigiana was part of the Exarchate along with Emilia and Romagna, Ravenna was the great port of the Adriatic while Luni was the important capital of the Provincia Maritima Italorum: it left an indelible mark in the History of this territory and its heritage is still clearly evident in the Maritime Military Department of Alto Tirreno, which was established in the headquarters of the Ammiragliato (“Admiralty”) of La Spezia. At that time, Paul the Deacon, historian of the Lombards (8th century), reported that the route marked by the Magra river was called «Tusciam ingressus» [2], ‘Door into

(13th century) referred to this route using this same name. The emperor, known as no other than the Stupor mundi (“Wonder of the World”), crossed these territories many times. By that time, Lunigiana, “The land of the 100 castles”, had basically become unassailable: in order to exert control over this region, it was necessary to conquer all the fortresses located on both sides of the river, otherwise there was the risk of being surrounded by the enemy while being hindethis does not concern the vast plain of Caprigliola, a site of paramount

Cantina dell’Ara si trova nel cuore della Val di Magra. Gianni segue tutte le fasi, dalla terra alla bottiglia, senza perdere di vista l’obiettivo di realizzare vini semplici e di qualità, nel rispetto delle tradizioni.

Cantina dell’Ara è amore per il vino

Cantina dell’Ara is situated in the centre of Val di Magra. Gianni follows all the steps of production, from the soil to bottling, with the aim of making quality, simple wines respecting traditions.

importance, which the bishops of Luni perceptively decided to fortify throughout the 12th century, at the time of Frederick Barbarossa. When king Liutprand founded the monastery of Berceto in 742, near the Cisa Pass, the premises for a peaceful annexation of Lunigiana to the Longobard Reign, which had been fully Christianised, were absolutely clear. It is no coincidence that 742 is the year mentioned in the Leggenda Leboinica (-> Bocca di Magra), the legend from where the Via del Volto Santo (“Trail of the Holy Face”) originated. 742 is also the year of birth of Charlema-

of the restoration of the Roman Empire, which would also gain the status of Sacred Empire. During the Carolingian era,

communication routes developed (often along ancient Roman itineraries). The Monte Bardone route remains unaltered to this day, but with the addition of new villages: around or slightly before the year 1000, the villages of->Pontremoli, ->Villafranca, Aulla, Santo Stefano, ->Sarzana developed on the route that today we call

Via Francigena (or Francesca, or Romea). This same itinerary was mentioned in the travel journal of British archbishop Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, while he was coming back from his investiture in Rome, in 990. Before then, there were only ancient villages of Roman-Byzantine origins; this was surely the case for Filattiera. The new villages were always crossed from gateway to gateway by a “straight path” but only the houses were built on the edges of that same path. In the Valley of Magra, the Legacy left by Dante is indelible [3] and unique events such as the Librai and Cantamaggio cortese (->Mulazzo) events can be directly linked to this true genius loci However, a more ancient element of identity is represented by the Statues menhir (-> Pontremoli), which although not exclusive to the Lunigianese area of the Valley of Magra, were most widespread here. It was probably in the villages scattered around the alluvial plain that the Ligurian Apuans found the profound reasons that underlied their ancient worship. Today, the Valley of Magra is a vast natural oasis

delimited by the mountains of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park in the East. In the South, it includes the Magra River Park. The river park was established in 1982 and it was later extended to include the Protected Area of Montemarcello, which was created in 1985. This is how the Regional Park of Montemarcello Magra-Vara was born: it includes the Ligurian basin of the two major rivers and the naturalistic area of Monte Caprione.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

STRABONE, Geographia Universalis, V II 5

PAOLO DIACONO, Historia Longobardorum, V 27.

MARZIA RATTI (a cura di), Antenati di Pietra, Genova, Sagep, 1994.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca, La Spezia, ItaliaperVoi, 2021.

Il Panìgo, panigacceria polenteria, propone una vasta scelta di ottime specialità liguri preparate con ingredienti tipici del luogo, specialità di carne e panigacci. Durante il periodo estivo, aperto tutte le sere a cena, tranne il martedì.

Panìgo, a panigacceria and polenteria, offers a wide choice of excellent Ligurian specialities prepared with local ingredients, meat and fish

SARZANA (Sp)

Carlo Fontana’s “Procellaria” (“Petrel”),

Guarnerio degli Antelminelli, Lazzerini’s “Carlaz”

Hamlet details

Together with Pontremoli, Sarzana is the most important City of Art in the entire Lunigiana. It is considered the historical heir of the ancient town of Luni, and riestablished exactly in Sarzana because the malarial swamps had by now invaded the once glorious Roman metropolis. Less exposed to the Saracen raids, Sardestination on the Via Francigena, where it developed around the 10th century. Like all the villages of the Upper Valley of Magra, it is crossed in a straight line by a large medieval street (from Porta Parma to Porta Romana). On both sides of this built and they have remained unchanged

over the centuries. The central Square –the ancient Square of Calcandola Piazza Matteotti – provided the setting for an important moment of the Peace of Castelnuovo on October 6th 1306, which involved Dante Alighieri as a great protagonist: it was here that Franceschino Malaspina, marquis of Mulazzo, gave Dante the plenipotentiary power of attorney that allowed him to go to Castelnuovo, to the residence of the Bishop-Earl of Luni Antonio Nuvolone da Camilla, and sign the historical treaty. In light of Dante’s Peace Documents, which are kept in the State Archive of -> La Spezia, Sarzana and Castelnuovo

biography of exile (with the exceptions of his native Florence, from where he left and

never returned, and Ravenna, where he died) where the presence of the Supreme Poet has been historically documented. In 1300 Dante himself, in order to ensure his safety, contributed to his friend Guido

As a matter of fact, his friend enjoyed a relaxing stay near the seaside with his family while waiting for things to quieten down at home. Unfortunately, Guido contracted malaria and probably diedring the Medici era, include the towers in Porta Parma and the inner fortress of Cittadella (also called Firmafede fortress), which is perfectly intact and home to numerous cultural events, on the other side of the town. The Fortress of Sarzanello, built by Castruccio Castracani half of the 14th century, stands above the town. The Town is the guardian of invaluable treasures, from the ampoule of

WEDDING DRESSES

La risposta per l’abito del tuo grande giorno. Una boutique di abiti da sposa e sposo, cerimonia uomo e donna, damigelle, paggetti e accessori

This is the place where you can find the right dress for your big day. A boutique of bridal and groom’s suits, formal/special occasion clothing for men and women, bridesmaids, groomsmen and accessories.

the Precious Blood (which according to the Leboinic Legend from 742, arrived at the mouth of the Magra, directly from the Holy Land, on an unmanned ship that was also carrying the Holy Cross -> AmeProcellaria, and last but not least -> Maestro Guglielmo’s Croce Lignea (“Wooden Cross”) (1138),

in the history of art, as well as a prototype

The Cross of St Francis of Assisi, near the

Church dedicated to the Saint, is another an older cross in the place where, according to tradition, Francis met St Dominic. The church of San Francesco houses the ->Funeral Monument of Guarnerio degli Antelminelli, the splendid ark made by Giovanni di Balduccio for the remains of

Carlo Fabbricotti, a great marble industrialist, stands in the hamlet of Luni, facing the sandy coast and outisde of the small cemetery of Marinella, Sarzana. The monument seems to be guarding the family chapel.

This beautiful work of art by sculptor Alessandro Lazzerini from Carrara was installed in 1913. The great humanist pope Nicholas (whose name was Tommaso Parentucelli),

Basilica and founded the immense Vatican Library, was born in Sarzana.

The Buonaparte family was originally from Sarzana and their presence in the town is documented as far back as the 13th century. In Sarzana, the Buonaparte family owned a tower-house, still well-preserved in the heart of the historic part of the town, th century a member of the family emigrated to Corsica, where the dynastic line which gave birth to Napoleon developed.

Il Vino

Ogni etichetta Lunae nasce per esprimere i caratteri dei vitigni tradizionali. La nostra filosofia produttiva è quella di dare voce alla natura, alla ricchezza che il nostro territorio ci regala.

Our wine

Each Lunae wine has been created to convey the distinct characteristics of our traditional grapevines. Our philosophy is to amplify the voice of nature, harnessing the natural resources that our territory has provided.

Vittoria alata del Fontana

THE INDOMITABLE “PETREL”

It should be clear by now: Lunigiana reached the highest level of sculptural experimentation with the numerous monuments that the Region wanted to dedicate to the victims of World War I. Sarzana (just like ->La Spezia, ->Bagnone and ->Pontremothe Procellaria by Carlo Fontana from Carrara (1865-1956). This work of art was inaugurated in 1934 and it is placed at the centre of Matteotti square, the same ancient Piazza della Calcandola where on the 6th of October in 1306 Dante Alighieri wasPeace of Castelnuovo. The monument is inten-

se is highlighted by the large marble base, where on one side a bas-relief portrays the soldiers while they are carrying a very heavy cannon along a steep mountain path. On that same path, high on the summit, the Victory is waiting to be achieved, even at the cost of life. Fontana, who was already author of Quadriga dell’Unità, which was placed on the left side on the Victor Emmanuel II National Monument in Rome in 1928, accomplished his greatest masterpiece with the Procellaria. This pelagic bird, i.e. residing in the open sea, is not afraid of storms and symbolises an utterly indomitable spirit and a universal emblem of Freedom. The way the beautiful the winds of the War, is not only an example of extraordinary artistic skill but also the result of the intuition of one of the greatest artistic masterminds of all time.

In the same square, in a building to the left of the Procellaria, an epigraph by Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi (1871-1919) celebrates the house where the Maestro lived.

Nel centro storico di Sarzana il Ristorante I Capitelli vi accoglie con cura e premura. La tradizione culinaria emiliana e toscana si esprimono in terra ligure con piatti di mare e di terra sinceri.

In the historic centre of Sarzana, I Capitelli restaurant welcomes you with care and thoughtfulness. The culinary traditions of Emilia and Tuscany meet in Liguria through the authenticity of sea and land dishes.

Tel. +39 0187.691445

+39 339.5313760

info@ristoranteicapitelli.it

Piazza Matteotti, 18 - Sarzana (SP)

THE TRIUMPHANT CHRIST WHO ALSO INSPIRED DANTE

In the Co-cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta in Sarzana there is an ancient painted cross: the Croce (“Cross”) by Maestro Guglielmo, also named Croce di Sarzana. The work has a remarkable peculiarity: above the head of Christ there

is an inscription in Leonine hexameters that reads:

ANNO MILLENO CENTENO TER

QUOQUE DENO OCTAVO PIN

XIT GUILLIELMUS ET HEC METRA FINXIT. These verses were written by the artist himself, Maestro Guglielmo, of whom nothing is known except that he was the

La Croce del Maestro Guglielmo

author of this exquisite piece of work. As rarely happens, with this inscription not only does the artist claim authorship of this work, but he also indicates the year in which the Christ was completed: 1138. We are looking at the prototype of the painted crosses that would become a theme in a land so permeated by art such as Tuscany:

the Holy Face of the Corvo Monastery (Ameglia), this is not exactly a CruciChristus triumphans

It is the oldest model adopted by iconography, which later, at the time of Cimabue and Giotto, was replaced by the Mendicant Orders with the model of the Christus patiens, Christ in pain. Here, only the characters in the side scenes are in pain, especially Our Lady of Sorrows and the weeping St John. But there is another interesting feature in the scenes surrounding the Christ: the Virgin is everywhere, even in those episodes of the Gospel that -

scholars came to the conclusion that

Bernard of Clairvaux. It is safe to say that it is with this author that Marian devotion reached its highest peaks: to the monk who dictated the code of conduct for the Templar Order, the

human redemption. Given these premises, it is extremely easy to believe (as does the author of this text) that Dante took inspiration from this source: he certainly had the opportunity to see this wonderful painted Cross during his stay in Sarzana and we all

in the Divine Comedy. Bernard of Clairvaux is also an essential character for

it is precisely thanks to the intercession of the French saint with the Virgin that Dante, Champion of Humanity, can achieve the absolute visio Dei

Trattoria Martina vi accoglie in un ambiente familiare e ben curato, dispone anche di un Dehors per chi preferisce stare all’aperto e godersi la vista dei meravigliosi vicoli di Sarzana.

Una cucina di tradizione famigliare che rievoca sapori antichi, lo Staff vi consiglierà sulla scelta del menù dall’antipasto al dolce.

Trattoria Martina welcomes you into a familiar and well-tended environment. There is also an Outdoor space for those who prefer to enjoy the view of the wonderful alleys of Sarzana.

A traditional family cuisine that evokes your choice from appetizer to dessert.

L’Arca funebre di Guarnerio degli Antelminelli

THE SON OF THE INVINCIBLE LEADER

Among the many treasures of Sarzana there is the sepulchral Ark of Guarnerio degli Antelminelli, the son of Castruccio Castracani (1281-1328). Castruccio, a fearsome Ghibelline leader from Lucca, was the archenemy of the Guelph Spinetta Malaspina “the Great” (1282-1352). It isred at the hands of Castracani thatsh their own Signoria (“Lordship”) in Lunigiana collapsed. After the death of Moroello Malaspina, the «vapour from Val di Magra» of Inf XXIV, in in 1321, the marquisate of Franceschino Malaspina di Mulazzo (who was responsible for the Peace of Castelnuovo but who was never mentioned by Dante. It is no coincidencement. It was Spinetta who conceiof the two emblematic branches of Lunigiana: the Spino Secco and the Spino Fiorito. However, Castruccio, who in 1324 had been nominated vicar of Lunigiana by emperor Louis IV the Bavarian, always represented an insurmountable obstacle. He was invincible in battle and it was only with his sudden death by malarial fever that Spinetta was unexpectedly presented with a great opportunity. This led to the maximum expansion of the Malaspina in Lunigiana; however, the project of a Lordship proved to be unrealistic throughout the centuries. Guarnerio degli Antelminelli died

in 1322 when he was only a child. His father commissioned a sepulchre worthy of their lineage to the great Pisan sculptor Giovanni di Balduccio (1300 approx. – 1349 approx.), who completed the monument in 1328, the same year in which Castruccio died. With this monument, the artist clearly moves away from

in the tradition of the Arks. It is almost impossible not to think of the Scaliger Arks, which eternalise the memory of the Della Scala family. It was certainly the fame of this family from Verona, the national emblem of a powerful Ghibelline dominion, which instilled in Castruccio the idea of a conquest of Florence with the new emperor: decades earlier, Dante had unsuccessfully presented the predecessor Henry VII with this idea. Once again, with the sudden death of one of the main protagonists ofth (Henry VII himself had succumbed to malaria), Florence was safe and the premises for the advent of the Medici began to take shape. Another extremely interesting analogy is that little Guarnerio rests in the church of San Francesco in Sarzana while his father Castruccio rests in the church of San Francesco in Lucca, the Pantheon of the city despite the excommunication imposed by pope John

had won the favours of king Edward I while in England, attracted the attention of Mary Shelley (->Lerici), who in 1823 dedicated the beautiful novel Valperga to him. Life and adventures of Castruccio, prince of Lucca . In studying the novel, Carla Sanguineti found substantial contents showing

THE FIGURE OF AN ENLIGHTENED PATRIARCH

Carlo Fabbricotti (1818-1910), a marble industrialist from Carrara, is the great patriarch of one of the most interesting sagas of Historical Lunigiana.

the sawmills and other businesses of the family on his own. In 1856, thanks to the Rattazzi Law, he was able to take over large plots of land in the Marinella plain and all the appurtenances of the ancient Corvo Monastery, above Bocca di Magra. He built the new family residence above the ancient Corvo Monastery: a small castle in neo-Gothic style which today houses the new monastery of the Discalced Carmelites (->Ameglia). He reclaimed the plain and turned it into the famous Tenuta di Marinella. As he was fascinated by the ruins of great collection of marble artefacts which were later exhibited at the Museo Civico of ->La Spezia, in the San Giorgio

Castle, under the name of Collezione Fabbricotti (“Fabbricotti Collection”).

It is said that, from the solarium of his castle, Carlo Fabbricotti used a long telescope to monitor the progress of the work in the quarries he owned in the Apuan Alps – which could be clearly admired from his dwelling. The truth is that he was an enlightened industrialist who always respected his employees. It is also said that if the family of one of his employees was in need or had health issues, a mysterious envelope with the necessary help would prompt-

values of the patriarch were passed on to his son, Carlo Andrea Fabbricotti (1864-1935), one of the major representatives of Danteism in Lunigiana, and also on to his wife and devoted cousin Helen Bianca. The devoutly Catholic family was so admired by local people that when Helen died a continuous line of mourners stood on both sides of the road from Marinella to Carrara to pay

Carlo Fabbricotti (“Carlaz”)

-

strial group went bankrupt as a result of the restrictions caused by the policy of Autarky, but also following the harsh clash between Carlo Andrea and despot Renato Ricci from Carrara, a

the family showed to be truly “noble”. With great dignity, Fabbricotti himself informed the bankruptcy administrators of the plots of land that had escaped their careful control. The splendid marble monument in honour of the patriarch, dated 1913, was commissioned by his son Carlo Andrea on behalf of the entire family.

The Carlaz stands out outside of the small cemetery of the Tenuta di Marinella, right in front of the family chapel: the spirit of this man is still hovering over the entire plain and watching over the souls of the dead with the same attitude that he had with his workers during his life.

The sculpture was commissioned to Alessandro Lazzerini (1860-1942) and it is undoubtedly the masterpiece of this sculptor from Carrara: it is full of interesting allegorical elements, such as the bag that is “leaking” money. This detail immediately calls to mind the famous «bag» that the entire «contrada» donated to Malaspina, in the famous immortal eulogy in Canto VIII of Purgatorio. We can assume that Carlo Andrea, a very gifted Dante

It is no coincidence that an epigraph at the foot of the monument reads: «Da l’Alpe dominata trasse ricchezze qui profuse» («From the Alps that he conquered he obtained wealth, which he

Unfortunately, the stick that he is placing on the rock is no longer present in his right hand: a complete restoration of the monument, one of the most beautiful and precious sculptures in the entire region, is advisable.

All’interno del borgo di Marinella,

immerso nella pineta e a due passi dal mare, La Fattoria propone cucina casalinga e piatti tipici della zona e il vero Amaro Partigiano, preparato con erbe tipiche lunigianesi. Si organizzano feste di compleanno, anniversari ed eventi e si effettua servizio di asporto.

In the hamlet of Marinella, immersed in the pine grove and a few steps away from the sea, La Fattoria offers homemade cuisine, typical local dishes and the authentic Amaro Partigiano, prepared with typical herbs from Lunigiana. We organise birthday parties, anniversaries or other special events and we offer take-away service.

AMEGLIA (Sp)

The Monastery of Corvo’s “Holy Cross” Hamlet details

The fact that Ameglia is undoubtedly an ancient pre-Roman settlement is attested by the presence of a Ligurian-Apuan necropolis of the 4th century BC, which was discovered in Cafaggio in 1976 by Ennio Silvestri (1920-1986), an autonomous researcher as well as the historical mayor of the village. The extremely interesting chest tombs of the necropolis are on display in the Civic Museum of ->La Spezia, in the San Giorgio Castle. The patrician Villa in Bocca di Magra belongs to the Roman era and dates from the 1st century BC Ameglia was mentioned in a document was in the discharge papers of emperor Otto I, dating from 963, which are included in the

Codice Pelavicino “Pelavicino Codex” (BiSeminary Library”, Sarzana). But the major attraction in the entire territory of Ameglia is without any doubts the Monastery of Santa Croce del Corvo, just above Bocca di Magra, which was founded in 1176. It provides an extraordinary panoramic view of the estuary of the Magra as well as of the great Apuan mountain range. Its history is closely tied to the Leboinic Legend of the ->Holy Face, of which the monastery preserves an important copy, presumably from the 11th12thstery of Corvo had on the development of literature, in Lunigiana and elsewhere, is

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CASTELNUOVO MAGRA (SP)

VILLA APPARTAMENTO

APPARTAMENTO

PUNTA BIANCA (SP)

AMEGLIA (SP)

Rif. 1632

Rif. 1207

Rif. 1461

SEMINDIPENDENTE

AMEGLIA (SP)

Rif. 1713

enormous. Apart from the monumental literature centred around the Holy Face (also named Holy Cross), and which also pinpointed a European itinerary, we know that in 1314 the brilliant Dante Alighieri visited the Monastery. Here, he asked the humble friar Ilaro to write an epistle which had to be delivered along with an autographed copy of the Inferno to the Ghibelline Uguccione della Faggiuola, as an utmost homage to the mercenary captain. From this event, one of the most important branches of the Lunigianese research on Dante originated. Even Giovanni Boccaccio, who was the great copyist of the Epistle of friar Ilaro, wanted this place novellas, precisely the 4th novella of the 1st -

ney to France (->Lerici). In the Monastery of Corvo there is also evidence of Francesco Petrarca of the 19th century, after an extremely long period of neglect, the ancient monastery was retrieved by Carlo Fabbricotti (18181910), named ->“Carlaz”, a great marble industrialist who was dedicated a beautiful monument in front of the small cemetery of Marinella in ->Sarzana. The great patriarch was responsible for the construction of the

false-Gothic castle, located higher up than the ancient monastery. In that dwelling, his son Carlo Andrea Fabbricotti (1864 - 1935), became an high exponent of local Danteism. His wife, his cousin Helen Bianca, who in her life was surrounded by an aura of sainthood, left fragile memories and a strong powise mediation of Cardinal Anastasio Ballestrero (1913-1998), the Ligurian Congregation of Discalced Carmelites acquired the entire Fabbricotti property, which had become a possession of Montepaschi after the bankruptcy of the family businesses caused by the great crisis of 1929. This is how this authentic corner of heaven, which includes a monumental 19th century park, was saved from the horrors of estate speculation. Today the monastery, just like centuries ago, is back to being a place of spiritual meditation and decent livability. At the entrance of the ancient monastery an epigraph still reads “Resurgam”: I will come back to life. The miracle has come true! The genius loci of this majestic place had a cultural impact in the second half of the 20th century, when Bocca di Magra became a summer gathering place for great intellectuals, poets and writers: here is where Giovanni Giudici and Euge-

nio Montale, Franco Fortini and Vittorio Sereni met. Writer, poet and journalist Roberto Pazzi was born in Ameglia. Within the last two decades, the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies has strongly reas-

stle, underlining the crucial importance of thus drew back the attention of international studies on Dante to the Monastery of Santa Croce. Another important hamlet of Ameglia is Montemarcello, a pearl located on the peak of Monte Caprione. It has been listed as one of the 100 most beautiful villages in Italy. It was home to Luigi Camilli

Via Dantis (->Mulazzo), the brainchild of the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies, which was the basis of his artistic growth. He died prematurely and is now resting in peace in his Montemarcello.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ENNIO SILVESTRI, Ameglia nella Storia della Lunigiana, Ameglia, 1963 (III ed. postuma 1991).

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca, La Spezia, Edizioni del CLSD, 2006.

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La Santa Croce del Corvo

TO THE ORIGINS OF THE “HOLY FACE”

The most ancient document to mention Santa Croce del Corvo (or Holy Face) was written by Pipino, bishop of Luni, on February 2nd 1176: here, a land property (“32 giove di terra”) was allocated to an unspeci«monacho de Corvo» for the construction of a «monasterium in -

atissimi Nichodemi confessoris». This means that the cult of the Leboinic Legend had already been established in the place where the Monastery of Santa Croce del Corvo was built. Ancient manuscripts tell the story of a deacon called Leboino who was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land along with the subalpine Bishop Gualfredo. In a dream, an angel told the high priest about an extraor-

in the Sepulchre with the help of Joseph of Arimathea. Nicodemus sculpted the body of Christ but he was unable to sculpt the face. One morning he found that the sacred it is the miracle of an “acheropite” image, which is a transcendental image, not made

ly found that Holy Face, a great triumphant Christ

The only way he had to bring the icon back to his homeland was to put it on an unmanned ship. However, the holy ship never reached Rome, as he had hoped: it reached the ancient town of Luni instead, and therefore that same stretch of coast near the mouth of the Magra, that can be admired from the Monastery of Corvo. The celestial ship resisted every attempt made by the inhabitants of Luni, who wanted to climb onboard. Eventually, it spontaneously landed following the solemn plea of Giovanni, Bishop of Lucca, who had rushed to the site having been warned of this incredible event in a dream. A dispute ensued between the people of Luni and the delegation of Lucca; the former claimed ownership based on territorial right while the latter claimed their right to keep the precious relic by virtue of the revelation received by their bishop. In order to solve the dispute, it was

to be pulled by two undomesticated oxen: if the cart had taken the road to Lucca, the

Holy Face woud have been given to Bishop Giovanni, otherwise it would have remained with the people of Luni. In the end, the oxen took the road to Lucca. However, the diocese of the Dukedom decided to reward the people of Luni by giving them the ampoule found on the ship of the Precious Blood of Christ, which is still kept in the Cathedral of ->Sarzana. It was the year 742. In this extraordinary

capitulation and therefore of the submission of Luni to Lucca, the “caput Tusciæ” (A. MURATORI, Delle antichità estensi et italiane, I, Naples, MDCCCLXI, p. 181). But that year also marked the birth of Charlemagne, the great author of the restoration of a Roman Empire that was also becoming a Holy Empire. The Holy Crosscent wooden Christ wearing a tunic and it is the only artefact from the 12th century (or earlier) that can be considered a copy of the original in Lucca (it has been recentlytury). The Semitic features of the face and some typically Byzantine features, such as the beard, seem to suggest that the monument was made in the Middle East. It is important to bear in mind that this Triumphant Christ And if it is true that Alighieri went to the Monastery of Corvo, as resolutely stated by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies based on Friar Ilaro’s Epistle, then he certainly saw this masterpiece, among the many other ones. The Supreme Poet «Holy Face» in Inf XXI 48, but some people saw a reference to the Christ of the Corvo in this passage of Pur III 122-23: has such wide arms,/that it takes whatever turns to it».

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EGIDIO BANTI, La Croce Lignea del Monastero del Corvo, in *Dante e la Lunigiana, Iperte-

Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi (Atti del Congresso Internazionale ‘Dante e la del Corvo, 30 settembre – 1 ottobre 2006), Firenze-Ameglia, 2009.

PONTREMOLI (Ms)

The Labyrinth in St. Peter’s, the Statues menhir of Lunigiana, Giovannetti’s Vittoria alata (“Winged victory”), Pinocchio, the Statue of St. Augustine in the Church of Santissima Annunziata Hamlet details

Pontremoli is the northernmost municipality in Tuscany and it developed at the dawn of the year 1000 on the Via the Magra. The hypothesis that Pontremoli is the legendary Apua , the main centre of the ancient Ligurian Apuans, was already featured in the Humanist tradition and was revisited at the beRoccatagliata Ceccardi. «Per Alpem Bardonis Tusciam ingressus» , ‘Door into Tuscany’ : that is how the Longobardsly referring to the area of Pontremoli and the same expression was used by the great Emperor Frederick II, the Stupor Mundi , who visited the town multiple times. During his last visit, in February 1249, on his way back from Cremona, he took with him his enchained secretary, the peculiar Pier delle Vigne , who had dramatically fallen into disgrace (he is the miserable protagonist of Canto XIII of Inferno , the one with the Wood of Suicides). The emperor cruelly made his secretary stand «in platea ecclesie Sancti Geminiani» , S. Gemignano square, because he wanted the treatment of this traitor to serve as an example to that unruly town, which had already tried to ambush Federick Barbarossa, an attempt

that failed thanks to Obizzo Malaspina the Great. In S. Gemignano square, an epigraph was placed to eternally preserve the memory of that event. Since Conrad Malaspina the Old, the great forefather of Spino Secco (the Mala-

Dante), according to an ancient and well substantiated tradition, was Fre -

from the famous «great thorn» (this part of the plant is the symbol of the

this passage it is in dry condition!) in Inf XIII 32 was considered by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies as a “recall of the Malaspina”. The so-called Cortina di Cacciaguerra, which divided the Guelph territory from that of the Ghibellines, is a great example of the -

ruly town of Pontremoli. The Torre del Capannone , the symbol of the town, is what remains of the original structure

half of the 14th century at the request of Castruccio Castracani.

Sport , tempo libero e gastronomia immersi nel verde alle porte della Lunigiana

Sport , leisure and typical gastronomy in full nature at the Lunigiana gates

dinary link to the pilgrimages of the Early Middle Ages: Labyrinth from the 10th century, one of the most iconographic labyrinths to this day. Pontremoli is the City of Books and it hosts the prestigious Premio Bancarella award. It is also a City of Art, competing with Sarzana for the supremacy in Lunigiana. The typical pictorial style known as Pontremoli’s Baroque is particularly important: the greatest examples of this style can be admired in the Duomo, which is the Co-cathedral of Santa Maria del Popolo. The town is also a true capital of prehistoric sculpture: the Piagnaro Castle houses the Lunigiana Stele Statue Museum , which gathers the largest collection of anthropomorphic steles in the world. A heart-felt tradition is the ritual of . There are two competing Companies of Firemen: one is in charge of the , commonly known

as St. Nicholas (17th January), while the other one is in charge of the (31st January). The latter is the most important of the two and it is attended by thousands of people. It is lit under the suggestive Ponte della Cresa on the occasion of the ce-

Patron Saint. It is thought that the success of the

13 metres high and must in vertical position) will determine the destiny of the village throughout the year that has just begun. Some illustrious personalities were born in Pontremoli. Paride Chistoni (1872-1918), was a distinguished Greek and Latin scholar; the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies listed him among the most eminent Dante scholars in the area; he died prematurely after having contracted the sadly famous “yellow fever” epidemic. Luigi Poletti (1864-1967) was an amazing mathematician: he perfected the Sieve of Eratosthenes, a method aimed at discovering prime numbers. He was also a gifted vernacular poet. He died when he was over a 100 years old. To him we owe the translation into the local

XXXIV from Inferno ( “Al

Cont Ugolin” , 1953). Manfredo Giuliani (18821969), was the founder of the ethnographic and cultural anthropological research that led to the development of the great modern Lunigianese culture. One of the major cultural institutions in the entire region was named after him: the Associabased in ->Villafranca, is devoted to the historical and ethnographic research in Lunigiana. A

the Blind Man of Pontremoli , a humanist from the 14th century, who was mentioned by Petrarch in one of his famous epistles.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ISA MANGANELLI TRIVELLONI, Dimore Pontremolesi, con il saggio di GIUSEPPE BENELLI L’identità storica di Pontremoli, Cassa di Risparmio della Spezia, 2001.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, ‘Orma di Dante non si cancella’ - I Luoghi Danteschi della Lunigiana, in ANDREA BALDINI (a cura di) Le Sette Meraviglie della Lunigiana, Lucca, Pacini Fazzi per il Rotary Club Lunigiana, 2016, pp. 229-260 (Pontremoli alle pp. 254-255).

THE PATH OF WISDOM

The ancient church of San Pietro de Conbetween the Verde and Magra rivers, hence its name – was rebuilt in 1961 following the awful modern standards, after being destroyed in 1944 by one of the many bombardments from allies that occurred during World War II. The only thing that miraculously survived that disaster was a heavy sandstone slab (approx. 83 x 60 cm.) engraved with a circular unicursal labyrinth, meaning that its path, despite being long and complex, does not have any false trails and every possibility of mistake is eliminated.

The Labyrinth of Pontremoli, dating back to the 11th century at the earliest, was unearthe work of the great Augusto Cesare Ambrosi, the same scholar who founded the Stele Statue Museum. After being temporarily kept in the Piagnaro Castle, the monument was moved back to the new church as soon as this was consecrated. For many years, it remained hidden away in the sacristy, as if it were an alien element in such a modernist environment. It was thanks to Renato Del Ponte, one of the greatest scholars to have specialised in this piece of work, that the Labyrinth regained its full dignity in 1990 and

Il Labirinto di Pontremoli

was placed at the entrance of the temple, its current location, right above the holy water stoup, in the most appropriate lo-

discovery. This piece of work has thirteen circumferences above which are depicted two knights facing each other. The one on the right has a strange pentagonal accessory with an elongated shape, maybe a cloak, that appears from under the hor-

creature. On the left of the scene, there is Ouroboros, the snake biting its own tail and which symbolises the circular nature of life and eternity. Looking again to the right, there is an indecipherable shape that it is thought to have represented an hourglass. At the bottom, an inscription «Sic currite ut comprehendatis»: ‘Come now to con-

reference to St Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. The Monogram of Christ, IHS, from the same period and with similar features, was placed at the centre of the labyrinth, with the clear intent to reveal the original value of the work, which is the symbolic journey of the pilgrim who walks along the road of life with goodwill, without any changes in direction. Despi-

Faith, which is the ultimate goal of every single one of us. Every pilgrim who visits Pontremoli, a major destination along

knowing that, however complicated the journey may be, it is always possible to

According to a classic interpretation, the between Good and Evil; on the other hand, Renato Del Ponte associates the suggestive engraving Knight, Death and the Devil.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

RENATO DEL PONTE, Il Labirinto di San Pietro in Pontremoli nel pellegrinaggio simbolico del Medioevo, Edizioni del Tridente, Treviso, 2015.

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Le Statue-stele della Lunigiana

THE GUARDIANS THROUGH THE MILLENNIA

«Nel corso di due secoli e mezzo, attorno al 3200 a.C., da una non-esistenza del fenomeno […] si è avuta una nascita di diverse isole Statue-stele sono state create e sono dive-turies, around 3200 BC, starting from a si[…] there arose several cultural centres in menhir were built and became a culturalTI, Le statue-stele della Lunigiana, Milan, Jaca

that «le statue-stele si rivelano essere i più antichi monumenti religiosi indoeuropei che

the oldest examples of Indo-European religious monuments in Italy and other parts of Europe where the culture of anthropomorphic megalithism reached its maximum expansion. The record held by the Region

expression “Lunigianese civilisation”, but the ancient Ligurian-Apuan population has not been granted this honour yet. It is not a question of pedantry or parochialism since this local phenomenon stood out not only for its proportions but also and foremost for its distinctive features: the ensemble of Lunigiana’s statues menhir, which includes about a hundred monuments, is characterised by an unusual balance between male and femal subjects. Basically, in the Lunigianese steles, the female world was so important as to make us think of an equalised society. Of the same opinion was Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian from the 1st century BC; he reported that the Ligurian Apuans – who were well known in Europe thanks to their alliance with Hannibal during the Second Punic War – saw women as a powerful resource because they were «strong and vi-

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extraordinary monuments, there have been many hypotheses since Ubaldo Mazzini, a great scholar from La Spezia, brought them to the attention of the world: the most likely

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hypothesis is that the fascinating Statues menhir represent the sacred worship of ancestors. In other words, they are the megalithic versions of the household gods in the patrician Roman domus. This hypothesis – supported also by recent studies that ruled out any possible link between the steles and burial rituals – better suits the nature of these extremely proud people, who were -

quest of these territories was a very hard mission that took centuries. It was only with the dramatic deportation described by Livy (180-179 BC) – during which a crowd of forty thousand people, or rather thousands of families, was forced to leave the fatherland to embark on a journey with no return to Samnium – that the great period of monumental Lunigiana came to an end. Immediately afterwards – in 177 BC – Luni, the «splendida nostra civitas lunensis», as we can read on a famous epigraph found on site, was founded. What remains of that ancient population is the indestructible and loyal multitude of immortal simulacra. They surfaced from the depths of History only in 1827,

Strangely enough, this discovery occurred of Zignago, and not in the Valley of Magra, where later all the other monuments were found. The largest exhibition of Lunigianese Statues menhir takes place in the Piagnaro Castle. Today, the Lunigiana Stele Statue Museum, which was inaugurated in 1975 by Augusto Cesare Ambrosi, to whom it is dedicated, is masterfully and passionately managed by archaeologist Angelo Ghiretti, who was kind enough to let us include the photographic content of this section. Equipped with innovative multimedia educational systems, the museum is one of the most visited museums in Tuscany. Not bad at all!

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AUGUSTO CESARE AMBROSI, Corpus delle Statue-Stele Lunigianesi, Istituto Internazionale di Studi Liguri, Bordighera 1972.

ANGELO GHIRETTI, Il racconto delle Stele: dalle scoperte al museo che le rivela, in *Le Sette Meraviglie della Lunigiana, a cura di A. Baldini, Lucca, Pacini Fazzi per il Rotary Club Lunigiana, 2017.

Osteria da Bussé 1930

with a touch of innovation thanks to the

Cucina secondo un tocco di innovazione

Vittoria alata di Giovannetti

THE HOMELAND AS A VALKYRIE

The World War I Memorial in Pontremoli is one of the many experimental masterpieces that Lunigiana can boast. The Victory is here allegorically represented by the Homeland in itself (a turreted Italy with wings) while it is

Like a valkyrie of Germanic mythology, Italy is carrying the souls of the Heroes who died in battle to the reign of eternal Glory. The desire to celebrate the victory over the Austro-Hungarian Empire through a representation belonging to that tradition, can be seen in the elements placed on the marble base: a Trophy (or Tropaion) depicting the eagle of Victory that rests on the weapons of the defeated enemy and a composition of oak and laurel branches (symbols of Strength and Glory). This amazing bronze ensemble by master sculptor Giovanni Giovannetti from Florence (1861-1927), was inaugurated on September 20th 1924 in the very central Piazza della Repubblica. In 1991, it was moved to -

lia. On that occasion, a white marble open book was added to the base as a symbol of the bookselling craft that

town that hosts the Premio Bancarella. The book shows the following passage: «Coraggio di Ieri, Impegno di Oggi, Per una Terra di Pace e Libertà. Pontremoli Comune d’Europa»

a Land of Peace and Freedom. Ponnew location assigned to this piece of work is far too marginal to really bring small park that provides the new location, the focus on the monument is hindered by the majestic trees that

The lower branches should at least be removed in order to give the sculpture the full visibility it truly deserves.

Dal 2010 punto di riferimento per chi ama le specialità della cucina tipica lunigianese: dai ravioli di verdura “poveri” come da tradizione, alle torte d’erbi e di porri no ai famosi testaroli.

Since 2010 this has been a landmark for people who love specialty cuisine of Lunigiana: vegetable ravioli (called poor ravioli for the simple ingredients used) made as per tradition, vegetable pies with wild herbs and leek pies and the famous testaroli.

Gastronomia - Pasta Fresca

THE CHEEKY ‘YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!’ OF THE PUPPET

s public gardens, you can admire the unique Pinocchio in all its irreverence. The bronze sculpture may seem recent but it was actually inaugurated on July 31st 1960. It is one of the many creations by master sculptor Riccardo Rossi from Massa (19111983), who would later be the author of the Monumento ai Librai di Montereggio (“Monument for the booksellers of Montereggio”), which we mentioned in ->Mulazzo. This famous character, created by the fervid imagination of Collodi (pseudonym of Carlo Lorenzini, 1826–1890), is portrayed with an irreverent stance, in the act of doing a major ‘you can’t fool me is a childish gesture for sure, but here it is addressing an adult audience that more often than not proves to be undeserving. It is a truly exquisite piece

Commedia dell’Arte (“Comedy of the profession”); therefore, it is as if Pinocchio is playing the role of Harlequin and is mocking the viewer. The inspiration for Pinocto the surrounding environment: the gardens of the Teatro della Rosa are suggestive of a coup de théâtre. Can we really speak of a Triumph of Pinocchio? Maybe, but without exaggerating. If we want to call it a Triumph, we must limit

and to all of his extraordinarily wise teachings; the Triumph has therefore nothing to do with the typical attitude of the puppet, whose story is decidedly a long distance away from the wisdom of the talking Cricket

It is a given fact that the cricket is pedantic but that is because it is always right, and young people should realise, before having to actually deal with the Blue Fairy in trouble.

Nel cuore del centro storico, Caffè Bellotti dal 1883 unisce le forti tradizioni con idee giovani e innovative. Lo Staff vi aspetta per gustose

colazioni, abbondanti aperitivi e nel dopo cena con cocktail sempre nuovi.

Situated in the historic centre, in business since 1883, combines strong traditions with new, innovative ideas. The staff is waiting to serve you with tasty breakfasts, plentiful aperitifs and new after dinners cocktails.

95

Piazza della Repubblica 12 Pontremoli (MS)

THE BALANCE OF THE GREATEST WISDOM

On December 5th 1470, and in the following days as well, the Virgin Mary appeared to a sheperdess in Pontremoli, near a shrine on the Via Francigena containing a 14th century sacred icon of the Annunciation. Local people wanted a temple, the Chiesa dell’Annunziata, to be built on the exact site of the apparitions. The church still preserves the precious fresco in a small octagonal marble temple from 1526, which the school of Sansovino has been traditionally credited with. Among many other pieces of art there are two remarkable works by Luca Cambiaso and a wonderful sculpture of St Augustine, housed in a niche behind the small temple. The presence of the founder of Patristics is due to the fact that, from the very beginning, the sanctuary was entrusted to the care of the Order of Saint Augustine. The Saint is portrayed seated on a throne with his mitre on his head and the crosier in his right hand; he is therefore completely immersed in his role as Bishop of Hippo Regius. His solemn attitude is emphasised by the fact that he is keeping a large book on his left leg and he is holding it with the corresponding hand. The book, a rare example of masterful sculptural technique, is held open

ger. The craftsmanship of the monument is such that some people (apparently Vittorio Sgarbi is one of them) consider it

skill. The most interesting exegetical feature of this work is the detail of the book which is held open exactly halfway. This concept brings to mind the 15th and 16th century Neoplatonic schools, which are

The School of Athens, in the Room of the Segnatura. These schools were centres of thought (according to the innovative research carried out by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies) and they were -

te as the person responsible for drawing Platonism and Aristotelianism together. As of today, this great accomplishment has not been recognised yet. Saint Augustine, the great representative of Platonic

in all probability the ideal summation of the Christian Doctrine, open halfway; it is as if with this gesture the Saint is drawing the two great belief systems of the world together and thus

ght. The meaning of this process is simply enormous.

MULAZZO (Ms)

Arturo Dazzi’s “Dante” and the “Via Dantis”

Hamlet details

It has been assumed that the toponyms of Mulazzo and Mulazzana derive from Byzantine settlements, whose connection to the Upper Val di Magra is well attested by the presence of the Limes in Kastrum Sorani in Filattiera. However, the term Mulazzana, (which can be found in the most ancient documents on this territory), is surely a predial word compounded with a Latin noun. On the other hand, the toponym of Filattiera has Byzantine origins as it traces back to the Greek word phulaktèria. However, a close link between the two villages is represented by the hexagonal tower of Mulazzo, which, according to ancient tradition, is called “Torre di Dante” (“Tower of Dante”). The tower was built on the very top of the hill and it seems to indicate that the development of the architecture in this territory far precedes the origins of the castle built for the Obertenghi family.

It is no coincidence that when Conrad Malaspina the Old carried out the separation of the patrimonial assets of the Malaspina family in 1221 (the year in which the focal

pavese, to the Val di Magra) the capitals of Spino Secco (“Dry Thorn”), the Ghibelline coat of arms, and of Spino Fiorito (“Flowered Thorn”), the Guelph coat of arms, became Mulazzo and Filattiera respectively. The ancient diocesan administration already included Mulazzo, Groppoli and Pozzo in the parish of Soriano, i.e. Filattiera.

The dynastic division into Guelphs and Ghibellines was not due to political disagreements but it was rather a way to enhance the overall prestige of the March. The two coats of arms themselves, which symbolise a balance between opposites, clearly following the tradition of a

Provençal commonplace – inspired Dante with the structure of Canto VIII of Purgatorio (“Purgatory”) as well as their alleged creator, Guilhem de la Tor, with the song The Treva, meaning “Truce” (MANUGUERRA 2020).

In April 1306, the year Dante Alighieri arrived on a diplomatic mission that led to the Peace of Castelnuovoshop-Earl (6th October 1306), an indelible mark was made in the history of the village and of the entire Lunigiana. There is no

pital of Spino Secco. His great connection to the place was immortalised in Canto VIII of Purgatorio and soon became an authentic genius loci. Futhermore, many extraordinary words were spent on the district of Montereggio, which we are going to talk about in the following lines.

Today, the historic monumental village of Mulazzo has become a big Dantesque Park thanks to the worldwide novelty represented by the exegetical path of the Via Dantis®. The itinerary goes from the arches of the Renaissance aqueduct to the incredibly ancient Tower of Dante, which belongs to the 14th century group of fortresses where Alighieri stayed as a guest. Not to be missed are “Dante”, Ar-

the panoramic view from the Tower on the entire Upper Valley of Magra and on the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine, but also the visit to the Museum of ‘Dante’s House in Lunigiana’

The great seafarer Alessandro Malaspina (1754-1810), who embarked on a scienti-

the last marquis of the Mulazzo branch. His memoirs were collected in the ‘A. Malaspina’ Historical Archive, while his sepulchre can be visited in the cemetery of Pontremoli.

Di fronte al cuore del borgo, con terrazza panoramica, a conduzione familiare, potrete gustare un ricco menù di piatti della cucina spagnola e della cucina tradizionale lunigianese.

Overlooking the heart of the village with its panoramic terrace, this family-run restaurant combines in its menu Spanish dishes and traditional Lunigianese dishes.

Via Pineta 2 - Mulazzo (MS) Tel. 1 +39 0187.439707

Mob. +39 320.0290687

hotel-elcaracol@libero.it elcaracol.webnode.it

The most important district in Mulazzo is Montereggio , which is home to two important ethnographic emblems of Epopea dei Librai lunigianesi (“The epic deeds of Lunigianese booksellers”).

Montereggio is indeed a village devoted to the publishing craft: it gave birth to the Premio Bancarella and many of its streets are dedicated to prominent entrepreneurial personalities within Monumento ai Librai di Montereggio (“Monument to

work made of Carrara marble and created by sculptor Riccardo Rossi (19111983) from Massa, is worth admiring. In his Epistle to De Ochis da Brescia (1388), Giovanni Mazzini, a humanist from Fivizzano, gives evidence of an incredibly

in that period, which was permeated byld of itinerant booksellers. It was a unique, incredible event: suddenly, even illiterate people often chose books instead of the famous porcino mushro-

Nicholas V (1397-1455), from Sarzana in Lunigiana, certainly gave a further impulse when he promoted an immense collection of volumes for the Vatican Library, which he himself had resolutely wanted to establish.

The second emblem is the Cantamaggio this event: the Epic May and the Courteous May . The village of Montereggio follows the tradition of the Courteous May. The maggianti (actors and singers performing in the Maggio singing style) gather in front of the houses of the village and perform; the lyrics of their songs change depending on the family they want to be welcomed by. The leitmotif is always to obtain good provisions and wine from the barrel. Where does all of this come from? The answer is very simple: from the troubadour tradition. The Occitan singers, of whom

major patrons in Italy, saw the month of May as the most poetic season (it later became the Marian Month) and they simply asked Lords to be welcomed in exchange for the performance of one of their own songs (which usually eterof the castle). The Courteous May is nothing other than a popular historical reenactment where the maggianti act as ancient troubadours , while the families have the honour to play the role of the Malaspina Lords, and therefore they cannot but express their sincere and genuine generosity.

Salutiamo la padrona che cortese è tanto bona […]

(“Let us greet the mistress who is gracious and kind […])

To quote Montale, the Courteous May is the occasion where the poorest part of the village can collect «its own share of wealth» and it is moving to see how, throughout the centuries, similar displays of good civilisation have been preserved with a sense of sacredness through the wise cultivation of this humble and warm popular tradition.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

EUGENIO BRANCHI, Storia della Lunigiana feudale, vol. I, Pistoia, 1897.

MANLIO NICCOLÒ CONTI, Dell’Origine e sviluppo di Mulazzo, in «Quaderni della fondazione

STEFANO MILANO, Torri e case-torre di Lunigiana, in *Castelli di Lunigiana, Atti del convegno di studi, Aulla, 16-17 gennaio 1982, Lucca, Pacini Fazzi, 1982, pp. 31-58.

LIVIO GALANTI, Il soggiorno di Dante in Lunigiana, Pontremoli, Centro Dantesco della Biblioteca Comunale di Mulazzo, 1985.

LIVIO GALANTI, Il secondo soggiorno di Dante in Lunigiana e la composizione del Purgatorio, PonCarrara, Centro Aullese di Ricerche e di Studi Lunigianesi, Amministrazione Comunale di Aulla - Commissione Civica Biblioteca, 1993.

LIVIO GALANTI, Io dico seguitando… - Il ritrovamento dei primi sette canti dell’Inferno e la ripresa della composizione della Commedia, Mulazzo, con il patrocinio delle Amministrazioni comunali di Mulazzo e di Pontremoli, Centro di Studi Malaspiniani, 1995.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, La Sapienza ermetica dei Malaspina: ulteriori considerazioni, in «Studi

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Dante e la Pace Universale, Roma, Aracne, 2020, pp. 50-54.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca“Orma di Dante non si cancella”, La Spezia, ItaliaperVoi, 2021.

MULAZZO

“Where culture is at home”

The ‘Casa di Dante in Lunigiana’ museum and Dante’s park in the historic monumental village

The Statues menhir and the ancient Ligurian Apuans

The vestiges and memories of the eight medieval castles

The coats of arms of the Malaspina family and the memories of the Provençal singers

Montereggio: The “Cantamaggio” and the epic deeds of “Pontremoli’s booksellers”

The seafarer Alessandro Malaspina (1754-1810)

Wines and typical cuisine of Lunigiana

Il Dante del Dazzi

THE “DANTE MADRE” (“DANTE – MOTHER”)

BY ARTURO DAZZI

The installation of the “Dante” in Mulazzo, the last work by Arturo Dazzi (1881 – 1966) from Carrara, occurred in August 1966, shortly before the death of the maestro, at the end of the Dantesque celebrations which the great Dante scholar mayor at the time) organised on the occasion of the 7th centenary of

The inexpert eye may see this monument as simple, and even of little

to seeing works that portray Dante with a solemn and domineering pose. However, the expert eye will undoubtedly grasp the disruptive essence of “Dante madre”, who is gazing at his Tower (the tower of the Obertenghi in Mulazzo has always been called the “Tower of Dante”) while holding his own creature on his lap: the Divine Comedy. We are not talking about a rare example: this is a unique example. A true masterpiece.

is keeping the Book open. He has opened it approximately in the middle, therefore in the part of Purgatorio, more precisely in Canto VIII (the “Lunigianese” canto par excellence, according to the accurategianese Centre for Dante Studies). This can be understood by looking at its counterpart made of travertine, which is placed next to the statue (even though it is not immediately next to the statue, it is still an integral part of the monument): the

of Pur VIII, where Dante is conversing in the Ante-Purgatory, in the Little Valley of the Nobles, marquis of Villafranca in Lunigiana. These are the passages in which Dante expresses his unconditional Praise for the House of Malaspina and which contain the secret of the “termine ad quem” was discovered by Livio Galanti in 1965: it was before the 12th of April 1306.

The text of the original inscription was erased by the inclement weather. In 2021, the year of the 7th the text was restored by maestro Giampietro Paolo Paita from Sarzana, who is also the author of the high reliefs of the Via Dantis. The chose based on the Petrocchi national edition,struction, which was published in 2006 on the occasion of the 7th in Lunigiana.

AN ODYSSEY ON THE BORDERS OF THE “DIVINE COMEDY”

Nine installations, for eight fundamental Cantos, mark an exegetical path through which the entire course of the Divine Comedy develops, with its own framework and under a Neo-platonic perspective: this is the revolution of the Via Dantis®, created by the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi “Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies” (CLSD).

The artistic itinerary, conceived along the lines of the Christian Way of the Cross, was developed by the municipality of Mulazzo to mark the 700th

the ministerial patronage “Dante 700”. It consists of a series of extremely sturdy metal totems in

tues menhir (a direct reference to the symbolic painting of “Lunigiana Dantesca”, by painter Dante Pierini from Aulla, 2003), each bearing a scene in bas-relief on marble sculpted by Giampietro Paolo Paita from Sarzana. The scenes are based on subjects provided by the CLSD.

This extremely original itinerary (an unprecedented event in the centuries-old tradition of lectura dantis) found its natural habitat in the ancient capital of Spino Secco (“Dry Thorn”)

the historic monumental village: Mulazzo rises from the bottom of the arches of the medieval aqueduct to the “Tor-

it is truly the ideal place for a journey from the «dark wood» to the «visio Dei», just like a real “Odyssey on the borders of the Divine Comedy”. This is not the usual, ordinary itinerary featuring the mere declamation of the Cantos:

Dante scholar enters the scene in a dynamic way and at the most appropriate times, to ideally guide the groups of viewers and help them comprehend the salient passages of the entire Journey of the Divine Comedy, according to the interpretation established by the CLSD. It goes without saying that the Declamation (the Reciting Voices), Commentary (Dante scholar) and Musical Atmospheres (the Musicians) are three absolutely inseparable elements.

Essentially, the Via Dantis® establishes the value of the Poem of Man as a path towards

individual elevation but also elevation of the humankind as a whole, through the awareness of a philosophy entirely devoted to universal Peace and Brotherhood. In a nutshell, the common thread of this Journey is that of the “Poetry of Flight”, capable of linking, through the rigorous “Ethics of Pilgrimage”, key characters and structural elements that are only apparently far from each other: the three Holy Women (S. Lucia, Beatrice and the Virgin Mary) and the three Canticles; Charon and Virgil; Francesca from Rimini and Ulysses; Ulysses and the Celestial Helmsman; CorVillafranca in Lunigiana, and the Holy Vir-

supreme triumph of the visio Dei -

nel with QRCodes links to the web pages of the Municipality and of the CLSD, where the exegetical path is fully illustrated, step by step, both in Italian and English. The Via Dantis® is not only an itinerant lectura dantis: it is also a book (2008), atrical multimedia work directed by Simone illustrations created by Skill Team, based in Sarzana. All of this is accompanied by «Dante- Symphonie». The theatrical format received the ministerial patronage “Dante 700” in 2021.

There is a detail that needs to be further discussed. Amongst the eight Cantos that were chosen, the 8th Canto of Purgatory, the “Canto of Lunigiana par excellence”, is the unalterable Station of Universal Peace: without the diplomatic mission that led to the Peace of Castelnuovo on the 6th of October in 1306, the Divine Comedy – which, according to the greatest scholars, began exactly in Lunigiana – would have been

the very structure of Canto VIII of Purgatory, where two angels with an extremely glowy face banish the tempting Snake from the “Little Valley of the Nobles” (not the valley of the Princes, as it is commonly called), which is a clear metaphor for the

earthly supremacy: it is the allegorical prePur XVI, which symbolise the redeeming pair Pope-Emperor. Here, Nino Visconti (Guelph) and marquis of Villafranca in Lunigiana, not only represent the philosophical concept of Pax Dantis (which was subsequently Monarchy), but also the autobiographical summary of the intense Lunigianese

Variae in the Introduction to the Act of the Peace of Castelnuovo, which was immediately recognised as been dictated by Dante actual political expression. This means that when Dante arrived in political framework for the «sacred poem» yet.

Inferno certainly refers to the subsequent amendments that were made to the project of the Divine Comedy: according to Boccaccio, these cantos were found in Florence by relatives of the Poet and they were supposedly delivered to Dante at the court of Moroello Malaspina in Val di Magra. It is obviously just a legend (Dante would have never forgotten those

tercession of the worthy Moroello Malaspina) but its origins are not coincidental: Canto VIII of Inferno (which is symmetrical to the Lunigianese Canto of Purgatorio) starts with the famous line «I say, continuing» and it is the only moment in the whole Divine Comedy where the story goes backwards and then it is resumed without any further hesitation toward the natural conclusion of the visio Dei.

suggesting that the decision to resume work on the poem was closely linked to the particularly successful outcome of the diplomatic mission of the Peace of Castelnuovo.

VIA DANTIS

VILLAFRANCA IN LUNIGIANA (Ms)

Luciano Massari’s “Dante” Hamlet details

The village of Villafranca, like other important sites that were mentioned in Siof 990 AD, arose on both sides of the great commercial and pilgrimage road. Today, an ancient part of the village survives, where it is possible to see the typical doors of medieval small shops. It is the stretch of territory that heads South to the ancient Malnido Castle, which was built to protect the village. The structure of the castle was completely intact before the bombings of the “allies” during World War II: what remains today are the enchanting ruins that hopefully will be at least partially restored one day. In 1221, when the great division of the dynasty was carried out by Conrad the Ghibelline property of Spino Secco.schino Malaspina di Mulazzo, because Moroello and Corradino, sons of Conrad II, were still in their childhood. The

noble character of Conrad II, who had been named the Young in order to be distinguished from the forefather of Spino Secco, was the basis for Danteditional praise of the imperial Malaspina in Canto VIII of Purgatorio. Even though recent studies underlined that the sea grandfather-grandson lineage) clearly represents the transition from the historical court of Mulazzo to the more lively the post-Conrad period. In any case, it is worth noting that even Giovanni Boccaccio was not immune to the charm and the history of the court of Villafranca. As a great seeker of memories for his Trattatello in laude di Dante, he wanted to honour and his daughter Spina the protagonists of one of Decameron the VI of day II. In 1285, in the ancient little church of S. Nicolò in Malnido, next to the castle, there was the marriage by

proxy between Margherita Malaspina, was the “vapour” of the Val di Magra in Canto XXIV of Inferno), and an illegitimate son of Count Ugolino della Gherardesca, whose «mouth uplifted from his grim repast» in Inferno XXXIII. This event, which has been historically documented, is proof of the strategic ties that the Malaspinas managed to establish with the family of the Della Gherardesca Counts. In recent times, it was discovered that the parvise of this ancient Christian temple was the sacellum that has been housing the remains of the lords of Malaspina for centuries. Of all the tombs, only about a hundred anonymous votive medals remain. One of these medals was undoubtedly worn by Conrad the Divine Comedy who is addressed by Dante with the deferential pronoun “voi” (“you” as in the second person plural). Today Malnido is home to a Parco Dantesco (“Dantesque Park”) with a beautiful marble monument,

Nella nostra cucina la pasta, i condimenti e i dolci sono tutti fatti in casa, seguendo le ricette della tradizione lunigianese. Inoltre, offriamo specialità delle migliori carni del mondo, grigliate e non.

In our restaurant we offer hand made pasta, toppings, desserts and typical cuisine of the Lunigiana area. We offer the best kind of meat from all over the world, grilled or cooked in many other ways.

Il Tempio della Fiorentina

The temple of Fiorentina steaks

a unique theatre area and an illustrative panel of Lunigiana Dantesca (“Dantesque Lunigiana”) created by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies, and made possible by the municipal administration and by the support of Rotary Club Lunigiana. In Villafranca you can also admire the monument of San Francesco, an exquisite bronze statue which stands in the cloister dedicated to the Saint, and, in Piazza del Municipio, the monument of Torello Baracchini, a hero of the Italian aviation. Do not miss the Ethnographic Museum of Lunigiana, dedicated to its great promoter, scholar Germano Cavalli, who founded one of the most prestigious cultural organizations in this territory: carries historical and ethnographic studies in Lunigiana. As far as the hamlets are concerned, the villages of Virgoletta and Malgrate (with its spectacular cylindrical tower) are absolutely worth visiting for their castles while the walled village of Filetto (with its monumental gate –see photo) is worth visiting for the overall architecture. In the same plain of Filetto and Malgrate lies the so-called “Selva di Filetto” (“Wood of Filetto”), a large chestnut orchard which has now been turned into a public park. There have been paro-mous «dark wood» far away from the truth. In this area there are many typical restaurants and shopsnal Valley of Magra recipes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

GERMANO CAVALLI, Storia di un marchesato di Lunigiana, Firenze, Alinea, 2010.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca, La Spezia, Ed. CLSD, 2006.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca – “Orma di Dante non si cancella”, La Spezia, ItaliaperVoi, 2021.

Piazza Immacolata 11 - Filetto Villafranca Lunigiana (MS)

Il Dante di Massari

THE RETURN FROM THE BEYOND

Apart from a few busts, there are only two monuments dedicated to the Divine Poet in Lunigiana: the one in Mulazzo and this one in Villafranca. Installed in 2006 as part of Malnido’s Parco Didattico Dantesco (“Educational Dantesque Park”), the Dante monument was commissioned by the municipal administration through a public competition announcement on the occasion of the 7th centenary

2006). The examining committee chose a sketch by Luciano Massari, a sculptor from Carrara born in 1956, who would later become the headmaster of the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara. Massari reconstruction by paleoanthropologist Francesco Mallegni as a reference. The Educational Park, located next to the Castle and within the area of the ancient areas: the monumental area and the archaeological area. The monumental part, behind Dantelar structure with three steps housing the stands destined to the audience of the public readings with nine circles that surround the statue. These represent the nine Spheres Paradise and each of them is engraved with a triplet belonging to the corresponding Canto, as per choice of physicist Leonardo Ricci from Villafranca, an expert on the subject. The scene is completed by a Didactic Panel created by the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Stuthe 7th 2021) thanks to the generous support of Rotary Club Lunigiana. On the other hand, the archaeological area includes the ancient plan of theves only through the beautiful bell tower and the sandstone perimeters of the of these sections was the shrine where the deceased members of the Malaspina House were laid to rest; among them, Conrad the Young, protagonist of Can-

to VIII of Purgatorio. Excavations have unearthed only about a hundred votive medals with religious motifs: it is impossible to know which of them belonged to that great man from Villafranca. Once again, thanks to the support of Rotary Club Lunigiana and following the proposal of the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies, there are ongoing plans to place a permanent lamp on the spot where the shrine was once located, so as to fully enhance the Dante is considered an esoteric Dante: the character, with an imposing attitude, is crossing the gate of the Beyond, which bears on its columns the signs of the Sun and the Moon. The Poet is captured in a of stairs, one going up and the other going down, so as to give the viewer a clear idea of the privilege that this character of the Divine Comedy was given: as the Champion of Humanity, the Pilgrim – according to mythology and tradition, only Saint Paul and the ancient heroes (the Greek Ulysses and the Roman Aeneas) preceded him in this endeavour - was able to come back through that deadly threshold and he is already holding the diary of that sublime experience in his hand.

BAGNONE (Ms)

Corsini’s winged Victory and the Friezes of the Quartieri Theatre

Hamlet details

With its remarkable Renaissance elegance, Bagnone is certainly the most spectacular

castle (which today is property of the Noceti Earls) on a high spur of rocks; the lower part of the village develops around the small canyon that formed over the millennia as a consequence of the swirling waters of the Bagnone, which vehemently descends from the slopes of the Lunigianese side of Monte Sillara (1861 m.), one of the main mountains of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennine National Park. This enchanted village is exactly the same as that which during the 15th century, together with Fivizzano, represented the cradle of Humanism in Lunigiana. Apothecary Giovanni Antonio da Faje (1409–1470), author of the extraordinary

Libro de cronache e memorie e amaystramento per l’avenire (“Book of the chronicles and memories and guidance for the future”), written in the dialect of the time, was born here: this is a truly exceptional record depicting Lunigiana at the beginning of the 15th century. The

important role that his accounts would have had among future generations. The remains of Da Faje, a very special “semi-illiterate man of letters”, are kept in the Oratory of the Malaspina Castle in Bagnone. Pietro Noceti, one of the Earls of the Castle, lived in that same period. From 1447 to 1455 he was the Secretary of Pope Nicholas V, the pope from Sarzana who founded the Vatican Library and

Basilica. It is therefore no coincidence that the symbol of the village is the Holy Cross,

which is celebrated every year with heartfelt participation. In a historical description of Bagnone from 1726, reported by Ugo Pagni, we read that «Pietro Noceti, che fu segretario e famigliare del sommo

mo una bella croce d’argento che dentro di se’ racchiude tesori di Sante Reliquie» («We have a beautiful silver cross containing the treasures of the Holy Relics for Pietro Noceti, who was the secretary as well as a

ght, a pilgrim knocked on the door of the castle of the Noceti Earls asking for food and for a place to rest. He was welcomed by the lords, but, the following morning, when a servant went to see him he was nowhere to be found, the only thing left by the guest was a little wooden cross on a table: it was the Holy Cross.

gnised as a symbol of the identity of the in the Statute in 2020, following the suggestion of an opposition minority party and the unanimous vote of the Municipal Council. This is a small miracle of the sacred relic as well.

Bagnone is a town waiting to be discovered, where every corner conceals details of great interest: the observant visitors can always encounter epigraphs, monuments, architectural elements, suggestive spots and postcard like views during their walks. If you add the simple traditional Lunigianese cuisine to these elements, you can be sure that you will never forget your stay in Bagnone.

The hamlets are also worth visiting. In Treschietto, where a splendid female statue menhir was discovered, they grow a very special kind of onion that must be rigorously eaten in combination with the local selection of cheese. In the small vil-

bell gable, while the origin of the name of Jera (most likely from the Latin words ieraticum or jeraticum one think of a place of ancient rituals at of Penn.

Francesca e Valter vi aspettano all’interno di un antico palazzo nobiliare in stile Liberty, per farvi degustare la cucina tradizionale della Lunigiana: torta d’erbi, salumi e formaggi nostrani, tartufo lunigianese, testaroli e dolci tipici.

Francesca and Valter will be waiting for you in an ancient Liberty style building to let you taste typical homemade dishes of Lunigiana: vegetable pies, typical cold cuts and cheese, Lunigiana truffle, testaroli and typical desserts .

La Locanda / The Inn

Vittoria alata del Corsini

AL VECCHIO PODERE

THE RECONSTRUCTED NIKE

The bronze statue of the Vittoria alata (“Winged victory”) of Bagnone is housed in a splendid sandstone arcade which is an integral part of the World War I Memorial monument, inaugurated in 1929, was strongly desired by Senator Ferdinando Quartieri, who – not coincidentally – is eternally admiring this masterpiece thanks to his bronze bust, located in the neighbouring square. The architecture of the arcade is the work of a team of masons and chisellers, who were directed by maestro Francesco Petrari from Bagnone, who was also the author of the ->Friezes of the Quartieri Theatre. Seven columns support six round arches. On the façade, above the coats of arms of the municipalities of the Upper Valley of Magra, a bronze inscription written in huge letters stands out: «Ieri tuo Sangue, oggi tua Gloria, Apua Madre» your Blood, Today your Glory, Mother

famous “Apua Mater” by Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi. The Victory is the creation of sculptor Fulvio Corsini from Siena (1874-1938): it portrays the famous Nike of Samothrace, ideally reconstructed with arms and head, which are missing in the original Greek sculpture, now on display in the Louvre in Paris. The statue, imagined as a warrior, is holding the classic composition of oak and laurel branches (symbols of Strength and Glory) high in her

holding a shield.

L’agriturismo, nato nel 2014 come attività connessa all’azienda agricola attiva dal 1930, o re ai nostri clienti prodotti genuini e caserecci in un ambiente rustico e familiare. Inoltre dispone di 6 camere da letto. Fra i prodotti più richiesti i nostri “tordei” e l’agnello fritto.

AL VECCHIO PODERE

The holiday farm was established in 2014 as a continuation of the activity of the farm, which has been active since 1930. In this rural and familiar environment customers can enjoy genuine and homemade products. It has 6 bedrooms. Our “tordei” and fried lamb are some of the most requested dishes.

Loc. Mochignano Chiesa, 3

Bagnone (MS) Tel. +39 339.2953635

I Fregi del Teatro Quartieri

Trattoria del Ponte

Piazza Europa 1 - Bagnone (MS)

Tel. +39 0187 429766

Mob. +39 347.7827908

Qualità, cortesia e disponibilità rendono la Trattoria del Ponte un punto di riferimento per la cucina della tradizione lunigianese e non solo. Il menù varia tra antipasti tipici, testaroli,

prima qualità, ottime pizze e focaccette e si conclude con dolci fatti in casa.

La Trattoria è dotata di un ampio salone interno oltre al rinnovato dehor esterno che può accogliere la clientela durante tutte le stagioni.

Ponte

Trattoria

Quality, kindness and availability make Trattoria del Ponte a landmark for traditional cuisine of Lunigiana and much more. The menu varies, you can taste typical starters, testaroli, ravioli, lamb from Zeri, sliced beef -tagliata and top quality tenderloin, excellent pizzas, focaccias and

delicious homemade desserts. Trattoria del Ponte has a large dining area and a renovated customers in all seasons.

“LUNIGIANA AT WORK”

The group of bas-reliefs in the Fregio del Teatro ‘Quartieri’ (“Frieze of the Quartieri Theatre”) of Bagnone is from 1931. The drawings and the plaster casts are by Augusto Magli from La Spezia (1890-1962), a pupil of the great Angiolo Del Santo (La Spezia), while the reliefs on sandstone are by master chiseller Francesco Pretari (1869-1951) from Bagnone. The original plaster casts, which have been recently discovered, underwent a conservative restoration process led by the Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara.

Although the series certainly illustrates the typical activities of the village and its districts, it is safe to talk about a representation of Lunigiana at work. We would also like to precisely establish this as a possible source of inspiration for one of the most successful philatelic series in the history of the Republic, created a little more than twenty years later, after the terrible storm of World War II: the famous Italy at Work from

construction.

The Friezes panels containing three scenes, which develop over two lateral squares and a panel shows Stone working. The square on the left depicts a Chiseller at work

central rectangle depicts a Quarryman (marble or sandstone), while on the right we see a Mason at work. The second three-scene panel is centred around Wheat farming: from the hard work of the farmer, with scenes of the harvesting and of the transportation of the load by mule, to the technique used by the Miller to transform the sacks into

panel, which is larger than the others, depicts the Celebration in the village of Bagnone: in the middle there is the God-river iconography, while in each of the two side squares a pair of putti supports a monument: in the scene on the left we can recognise the 15th

century Santa Maria Chapel, while in the one on the right we can see the ->Loggiato della Vittoria Alata (“Arcade of the Winged Victory”), inaugurated only two years earlier, in 1929. The fourth panel shows the Market Place the process of buying and selling pigs; in the middle, a whole family leads the other traditional animals of rural farming to the square: the calf and the lamb. In the square, on the right, two women are bargaining over a supply of chestnuts. The last panel is about the sacred nature of three scenes from everyday life: drawing water from the source, keeping the female craft of spinning wool with the magical yarn swift are the examples of indoor domestic life presented by the artist. The only moment of pure peace is the one in the middle, where the whole family is gathered in front of the warm Fireplace, and even though they are working, it is still a joyful situation. We are staring at a timeless, immortal masterpiece that travels through a thousand-year old tradition that will never fade away. There is also a lot of Art History involved: in the central frieze there is a reference to Donatello, while the detail of the pair of putti supporting the great architectural structures is a reference to Giotto in the Scrovegni Chapel. Finally, it is worth noting that women appear in all the scenes of work.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AUGUSTO GIUFFREDI (a cura di), I Gessi ritrovati – Il fregio del teatro di Bagnone ed il restauro dei modelli originali in gesso

Il ristorante locanda Fermento è un locale rustico, ricco di ricette rielaborate dove non si perdono i sapori tipici della Lunigiana. Semplici, genuini e fatti in casa.

The restaurant inn Fermento is a rustic place that revisits the traditional recipes and typical genuine and homemade dishes.

AULLA (Ms)

The Monumental Sepulchre of San Caprasio and the Mechanical Nativity Scene of Pallerone

Hamlet details

The foundation of Aulla can be traced back to the origins of the San Caprasio Abbey, one of the most important monastic centres in medieval Lunigiana, founded in 884

the Aulella by marquis Adalbert of Tuscany. The discovery of the ->Sepulchre of San Caprasio (2003) was made possible by the great determination of Lunigianese historian Riccardo Boggi, who supported the popular tradition that had always wanted to see the sacred relics hidden under the altar of the church. This detail clearly indicates that the ancient people wanted to protect those precious mementos from the Saracen incursions by hiding them in a safe place in the hinterland of Lunigiana; they chose the edge of a fake sepulchre. This is undoubtedly one of the greatest discoveries ever made in Lunigiana as far as medieval archaeology is concerned. The Station of Aguilla (this is the ancient name given by Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, to the XXX stage of his journey from Rome to Canterbury in 990), was built on that great caravan route that today we call Via Francigena, which was already very popu-

already been named as «Tusciam ingressus»

by the great historian of the Longobards, Paul the Deacon (approx. 720-799) (->Pontremoli). Aulla was founded on a junction of enormous importance: the intersection at Aulella, the stream that leads to the ancient is the very itinerary that has always linked the Gulf of La Spezia to the large Emilian coincidence that, throughout the centuries, this place was chosen to preserve the skull of Saint Venerius, which, in recent times, has been taken once a year to the proto-Romanesque church of San Venerio, in La Spezia, on the occasion of the celebration of the Patron saint (->La Spezia; ->Portovenere). Not far from Aulla, in the very ancient Terrarossa (called “Rubra” in the Cosmography of the Anonymous from Ravenna from the 7th century; today it is a district of Licciana Nardi), the Taverone stream leads to the ancient route to the Emilian heaths. Not far from Terrarossa and already within the area of ->Villafranca in Lunigiana, in the plain of Fornoli, precisely in the place called La Chiesaccia, we can see an ancient part of the Via Francigena, near a deconsecrated small temple: this stretch of the itinerary is tied with

San Caprasio Museum, which is also known as the “Pilgrim Museum”, is the place that, at least partially, commemorates this glorious period of history. It was founded in 2009 by Riccardo Boggi, who was also responsible for the discovery of the se-

stage along the European route of the Via Francigena, is home to a hostel. Every year the hostel welcomes thousands of pilgrims on their way to Rome: people of all ages and social classes set out for a journey of meditation and growth, as witnessed by the extraordinary Labyrinth in the Church of San Pietro in ->Pontremoli. In Aulla you can visit the Fortezza della Brunella (“Brunella Fortress”), whose construction is attributed to the famous soldier of fortune Giovanni delle Bande Nere. In 1920 it was bought by the British

Via Aldo Buttini, 15 - Loc. Quercia Aulla (MS)

Struttura inserita nel cuore del piccolo e tranquillo borgo della Quercia, la cui posizione strategica permette di vivere le molteplici attrattive culturali e naturali della Lunigiana, le suggestive città d’arte limitrofe o le vicine località patrimonio UNESCO delle Cinque Terre.

tire Upper Valley of Magra. In 1977, the castle became property of the State and it was entrusted to the Municipality of Aulla, which chose it as the location for the Natural History Museum of Lunigiana The typical cuisine and the hotel hospitality are good. In the nearby district of Pallerone, the fascinating and elaborate ->Mechanical Nativity Scene is not to be missed.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FRANCO BONATTI, I mille anni di Aulla nella storia della Lunigiana: guida alla mostra documentaria, Collana di ristampe e di nuove pubblicazioni (n. 4), Aulla, Centro Aullese di Ricerche e di Studi Lunigianesi, 1975, XXXI, 142,

Accommodation facilities situated at the centre of the small, quiet hamlet of Quercia, strategically positioned to enjoy the many cultural and natural attractions in Lunigiana, it is also close to evocative cities of art and the Cinque Terre a UNESCO world heritage site.

Il Sepolcro monumentale di San Caprasio

THE SECRET TOMB OF THE EUROPEAN SAINT

According to a popular legend from Aulla, the tomb of Saint Caprasio was hidden under the altar of thedition, historian Riccardo Boggi of the ‘Manfredo Giu-arch in Lunigiana, a disciple of the founder Germano Cavalli, followed - on behalf of the Municipality and the Parish - the archaeological research conducted for years by the Istituto per la cultura materiale (ISCUM), “Institute for Material Culture”, under the guidance of Tiziano Mannoni and Enrico Giannichedda. In 2003,

the tomb of the Saint, containing a very rare reliquary-case made of stucco, was discovered next to an empty tomb and to the remains of the apses of the 8th and 9th century churches. The empty tomb, belonging to the 9th-century church, was chosen to house the remains of the saint as soon as they arrived from Provence. They were later moved to the new, monumental tomb immediately after the chur-

ch was enlarged in the 11th century. This was undoubtedly one of the most important discoveries of religious archaeology ever made in medieval Lunigiana. Today Riccardo Boggi is the director of the Museum of San Caprasio and the Relics of the Saint, who was named special patron of the pilgrims on the Via Francigena who pass through our Diocese, are on display to be revered by believers.

Caprasius was a hermit monk. Spiritual guide to Saint Honoratus, he promoted the spread of monasticism in Provence and died on the island of Lérins, opposite Cannes, in the year 433. Apart from the obvious need to protect his remains with a monumental tomb, which became inaccessible after, around the year 1000, the last Saracen incursions hit Luni, we know that the relics were brought to Aulla from Provence to escape from the fury of the Saracens on the island of Lérins. They arrived at the behest of Adalbert II, marquis and duke of Tuscany, who was married with Bertha of Provence. He wanted the relics of the Saint to add prestige to the abbey belonging to his family, which was founded in 884. It is easy to understand why, centuries later, the troubadours were so well-informed about our region: pilgrims from half of Europe travelled to the tomb of Caprasius in Aulla on their way to Rome or Santiago de Compostela.

pilgrims still remain today as evidence of their visit.

Inside the Abbey, in the excavations on display inside the large apse, the two sepulchres with the reliquary-case containing the sacred remains are clearly visible. The traces of two older churches are also recognisable: one of them partially

from the Roman era, including an epigraph dating back to the 1st century; the other may date back to a period prior to the foundation of the abbey in 884. The Museum of San Caprasio has an interesting collection of furniture items and sculptures from the 8th and 13th centuries as well as an important collection of coins from the Middle Ages. The Abbey is an essential stop along the historical and religious itinerary of Lunigiana.

Da 50 anni, la profumeria di Aulla! Paola e Claudia, con la loro preparazione e professionalità, vi sapranno indicare i prodotti giusti per voi, tra le migliori marche di cosmesi e profumeria, come Dior, Chanel, Diego Della

For 50 years, Aulla’s perfumery! Paola and Claudia, with their preparation and professionalism, will be able to indicate the right products for you, among the best brands of cosmetics and perfumery, such as Dior, Chanel,

Il Presepe Meccanico di

Pallerone

THE REASSURING NORMALITY OF THE NATIVITY SCENE

Throughout the year, but especially at Christmas, it is only right and proper to pay a visit to one of the oldest mechanical nativity scenes, installed in the little hamlet of Pallerone, Aulla. It was built in 1935, in the kitchen and laundry room of the ancient building belonging to the Marquises of Malaspina, located next to the Church of St. Thomas Becket. This ingenious system was built using discarded objects, such as bicycle wheels, ropes and the motor of a fan. Over time, thanks to the fondness of the village for their Nativity Scene –

war – new moving elements were added to the original scene. The Nativity of Pallerone, as we see it today, began to take shape in 1968, thanks to the impetus that the surveyor Silvio Baldassini gave to the project. In 1999 the last reconstruction took place, allowing us to admire today a unique work of art, which in seven minutes shows us the transition

as the true highlight of the installation. The 40 metres wide scene includes the landscape of the Apuan Alps in the background. No less

the procession of the shepherds with their sheep, the lumberjack cutting wood, the baker selling bread, the blacksmith pounding iron, the laundress washing her clothes, the

there is more: the running water of the stream culminates in the waterfall on the lake and propels the blades of the mill. It is a typical setting, with the village of Bethlehem,

soldiers on chariots. When the sun sets, the takes place. The custom of the Nativity comes from Saint Francis of Assisi, who venerated the birth of Jesus with the famous manger of Greccio (near Rieti), on Christmas Day 1223. Next year is the 800th hundred anniversary of this event. The Nativity means above all Normality, because there is absolutely nothing -

ans following the “Laws” established not by men but by a superior entity called “Mother Nature”. In the Nativity Scene everything is

scene is infused with a sense of peace, safety, calmness and tranquillity. The Nativity means also Universality: just like the Divine Comedy, which is based on the principle of Universal experience to an example for all humankind, the Nativity, through Child, conveys principles that every man of Goodwill can apply. The foundations for a Good life the Family (the Father, the Mother, the Child); the warmth of the Hearth; the New Man (the Child); the relationship with Nature (the sheep, but also the Ox-Donkey pair); the star guiding the Princes and symbolising the Virtues (the Comet, the “straight pathway” of the great father Dante); and also the value of Friendship, with the “noble” Guests (“the Kings”, the three Magi) who bring the gift of Brotherhood and other gifts. Furthermore, the Shepherd is the Guide of the People, who are here

This is in line with the Greek idea of Paideia, which means Education. The Fisherman is the Missionary, who is saving the souls of Goodwill from the temptations of the Evil. It is clear why the Christian message became widespread among the Greek, Celtic and Roman cultures and why the theme of the Advent of the New Man is the only way to interpret and Western culture. The lack of a precise point of reference for the inalienable values of Christianity in the Preamble of the nascent European Constitution is totally unacceptable. If all this is correct, the Wisdom of the Nativity Scene is the foundation of the Ideal City. Hence the proposal of the Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies to make the Nativity Scene a permanent presence in the House: may a corner of the house always be decorated with this precious scene and may the Veltro (“Greyhound”) always guide us.

Luca e Simonetta, con passione e professionalità, vi aspettano tutti i giorni nelle due sedi di Pontremoli e Pallerone, con un vasto assortimento di dolce e salato.

Luca e Simonetta with passion and skills will be waiting for you in their two bakeries in Pontremoli and Pallerone, with an ample choice of sweet and savoury products.

Other treasures in Licciana

Nardi: Anacarsi Nardi Casola in Lunigiana: Pieve di Codiponte

With regards to the Tuscan part of Val di Magra, we are going to exclusively focus on those municipalities whose history has -

whose artistic discoveries are absolutely valuable, relevant and easy to be admired. For instance, the Epigraph of Leodgar in the Tower of San Giorgio in Filattiera is undoubtedly a precious pearl, but this

site is not currently open to the public. It will certainly be the responsibility of the municipal administration to ensure that this 7th-century monument, which is undoubtedly one of the most important in the history of Lunigiana, can be displayed to the public as soon as possible. In the Municipality of Comano, there is the Epigraph of Crespiano, a document of great philological importance dating back to the

the Valley of Magra

Fivizzano: monument to Giovanni Fantoni

Fosdinovo: funeral monument to Galeotto I Malaspina

year 1000, but it is located in the internal walls of the rectory of the beautiful Romanesque Parish Church, so it is clear that it cannot be included among the “accessiLunigiana Dantesca (“Dantesque Lunigiana”), we included the precious Bas-relief of Tresana by Ranieri Porrini, a gifted scholar specialised in the history of the place. In Zeri, the many Epigraphs of the Resi-

stance stand out among the numerous hamlets immersed in the uncontaminated nature. As for Licciana Nardi, we focused on some single monuments (the Funeral Monument of Anacarsi Nardi); Casola in Lunigiana (the allegorical Capitals of the Romanesque Parish Church of Codiponte); Fivizzano (the Bust of Giovanni Fantoni) and Fosdinovo (the Sarcophagus of Galeotto Malaspina). GO BACK

THE PATRIOT HERO IN THE LUNIGIANA OF THE RISORGIMENTO

Anacarsi Nardi was born in 1800 in the hamlet of Apella, in the municipality of Licciana, in the mountain area of Lunigiana where the ancient Pass, unfolds. Animated by liberalism, the young man soon developed a strong patriotic spirit thanks to his uncle Biagio, who involved him in the unsuccessful uprising in Modena in 1931, among Ciro Menotti conspirators. On that occasion they were lucky. However, when they were both exiled to Corfu, they had the unfortunate idea to take part in

Anacarsi Nardi

the even more unsuccessful expedition of the Bandiera Brothers. Biagio died

while Anacarsi, together with the initiators of the revolt, was captured and executed in the valley of Rovito on July 25th 1844.

He was initially buried in Cosenza until his remains were moved to his native town on October 2nd 1910. In 1933, the name of the municipality of Licciana was extended by adding the surname of this hero. The funeral monument of Anacarsi in Licciana Nardi is a very intense work of art and Angiolo Del Santo absolute masterpiece (1882-1938) (->La

soldier is portrayed on the ground, ma-sed by the agonizing contortion of thedeath, the small town of Licciana gave birth to another great patriot, Alceste De Ambris (1874-1934), who drafted

the Charter of Carnaro, the Constitution of FiuConstituent Fathers of the Republic.

I Capitelli della Pieve di Codiponte

THE MIDDLE AGES IN PICTURES

The Pieve dei Santi Cornelio e Cipriano (“Parish Church of St Cornelius and Cyprian”) in Codiponte, in the municipality of Casola in Lunigiana, is one of the most important Romanesque temples in Lunigiana. The current structure dates back to the 12th century, but the original structure was much more ancient. It has a basilica-like plan, with three navesstone columns supporting round arches. The sculptural groups of the capitals are of great importance, portraying subjects typical of the European Middle Ages that are still being analysed by scholars, such

as the two-tailed mermaid, which, in our Christ, therefore a symbol of Salvation) and the anchor (which is a maritime metaphor for safety, therefore a symbol of Faith).

Not to be missed, on the wall at the back of the right aisle of the temple, is a late medieval triptych with the Virgin Mary on the throne with the Child in the centre, Saints Cornelius and Cyprian on the right and the image of the Holy Face on the left (->Ameglia). The “Via del Volto Santo” (“Path of the Holy Face”) has touched this place as well.

Giovanni Fantoni

THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN FIVIZZANO

Giovanni Fantoni from Fivizzano (17551807) is the main exponent of pure Neoclassicism in Lunigiana. Born from a noble family, he was sent to the seminary when he was young. He soon developed an anticlerical spirit and was expelled. He therefore lived a dishevelled and libertine youth, which did not prevent him from being accepted into the Accademia della Crusca (“Academy of the Bran”) and the Arcadians”), where he entered under the name of Labindo. His family never failed to

the Secretariat of State in Florence, then enrolled to the Royal Academy of Turin, from which he left as a second lieutenant. His restlessness led him to Naples, the great centre of the Enlightenment, where he joined the Freemasons and developed

those Jacobin ideas that would also inLevia Gravia. Imbued with Foscolian heroism, in 1796 he took part in the uprisings in Reggio and Bologna, while in 1800 he joined the Genoese against the Austrians who had besieged the city.

The Odi, published in various editions, are his most important work. He was responsible for the Dantesque idealisation of the castle of Fosdinovo, where a small room located in a 16th-century tower soon became the “Stanza di Dante” (“Dante’s Room”). He died in Fivizzano, in the same room where he was born

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AMEDEO BENEDETTI, La fortuna critica di Giovanni Fantoni, “Lunezia”, Milano, n. 6, settembre 1995.

L’Arca funebre di Galeotto Malaspina

THE MALASPINA AND THE SCALIGERI

The church of San Remigio, in the heart of the historic village of Fosdinovo, houses the sepulchral ark of Galeotto I Malaspina

who was appointed by Emperor Charles IV in 1355.

He was the grandson of Spinetta Malaspina “the Great”, Lord of Fosdinovo from 1340-1352, the man who attempted the impossible mission (which, indeed, turned out to be a failure) of establishing a Malaspina Lordship in Lunigiana.

The tomb was commissioned in the year

probably descended from the Scaligeri family. Galeotto had been active as a judge in Verona. His sarcophagus is framed by a round arch on top of which there is a Gothic pinnacle with the intertwined coats of arms of the Malaspina and the Della

Scala families. The Scaliger tombs are famous throughout the world.

of a white marble aedicule with a rose window and of a sarcophagus on which the -

des four bas-relief scenes in which Galeotto receives the investiture as a Knight in the presence of the Virgin Mary, Christ, and Saints John the Baptist, Anthony and James the Apostle, who were the patron saints of the main orders of knighthood during the Middle Ages. A long epigraph in Latin celebrates the profound sense of Justice that permeated this man. The epigraph is then summed up with a motto written in dialect: «He brought that justice that rules the world, if there were no juwhich clearly shows a Platonic origin.

CINQUE TERRE & RIVIERA

Between dazzling beauty and great Literature

There is no longer any need for a detailed introduction: the Cinque Terre have become a true world wonder, which even Disney has now decided to celebrate with a set among thelages.

This is mainly thanks to the founder of the National Park, Franco Bonanini, but also to Mario Andreoli, a railway worker who could not have imagined that his own creation of 1961, the Presepe Lumininoso di Manarola (the Luminous Nativity Scene of Manarola), would become the largest and most famous nativity scene in the world.

But the Riviera of La Spezia, which stretches from Deiva Marina to the cliffs of Tramonti and Muzzerone, is truly unique in its entirety. And this is a land of poets worthy of the Nobel Prize. Here,

between the cold contemplation of the -

«distant palpitation of the silvers of the Eugenio Montale, , 1925, various poems), there emerges the feeling of an extremely lively land, where itself «on certain days is a garden in full Vincenzo Cardarelli, Liguria, approx. 1928).

It is certainly true that Cardarelli, a sublime poet who is not adequately commemorated, describes Liguria as «a graceful

the part of the region he was really familiar with was Vernazza, the village where he used to spend summers in his youth and where, better than anywhere else, he could look at those churches that looked

“LIGURIA”

Liguria is a graceful land, the burning rock, the polished clay come alive with the vine leaves in the sun. The olive tree is a giant. In springtime the ephemeral mimosa appears everywhere. Shadow and sun alternate through those deep valleys which hide from the sea, along the paved roads wells and cracked lands, skirting farms and walled vineyards. In that arid land the sun crawls upon the stones like a snake. On certain days the sea is a garden in full bloom. The wind carries messages. Venus is born again with the gusts of the mistral. Oh churches of Liguria, like ships about to be launched! Open to the winds and waves Ligurian graveyards! A rosy sadness colours you that is wilting, the great light fades away and dies.

“EVENING

OF LIGURIA”

Slow and pink-hued, rising from the sea comes the evening of Liguria, perdition of loving hearts and distant things. Couples linger in the gardens, the windows light up one by one like many theatres.

The churches on the shore look like ships about to sail.

In those same years, Ettore Cozzani, the great genius of La Spezia with Ubaldo Mazzini, spent his summers in the enchanting Vernazza. His thousands of verses, written in sestinas of endecasyllables in Il poema del mare (“Poem of the Sea”) (1928), convey a deep, ancestral love for the incredible wealth of this heaven kissed strip of land.

“POEM OF THE SEA” (from “PRELUDE”)

[…]

All of us were quivering and indocile to you

Like wild herds, the mountains on the plains Struggled with thundering voices, in the devastated waters that the volcanoes of your waves the Nume unexpectedly blew: you calmed down; and the mountains did the same: and in the shadow of the new coasts, a surge of atoms, more vague and lighter than the shadow of nothingness moved you, and in a veil the Forms were born [...].

“THE STONE FOREST” (from “POEM OF THE SEA”)

[...]

it rose from the waves, rather than from a peaceful stupendous dawn, and wandering, singing from shore to shore, slowly, a mermaid: she called the children, and moreover, with her delicate laughter, seduced them as they were so immature and beautiful, with immense eyes and woods of hair.

[...]

Her many sisters sprang from the sea, as many as the waves, and each one took a child in her bosom: and they were so rosy, blonde, slender, they plunged (into the water): their tails darted of silver towards the bottom, and the brave ones disappeared.

[…]

Even now, anguished prisoners, try to escape from the cold polypary; (sea) bottoms sponges and pearls, so that nothing ever is left, sees little hands, little eyes, and some mouths: but he thinks they are corals, and does not touch them.

And what about the painters? In Riomaggiore, in the second half of the 19th century, the Macchiaioli artist Telemaco Signorini rediscovered the Cinque Terre after several centuries of utter isolation and described this almost “primitive” environment. Later, Antonio Discovolo, a great friend of Ettore Cozzani, taught his companion to recognise even the colour purple in the vast and magical see-through surface of the sea. Long before the contemporaries there were four geniuses who wrote about these splendid shores. These were none other than Salimbene of Parma, Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. They all mentioned a wine that was only produced here at the time: the Vernaccia. Salimbene curiously distinguished this nectar (whose name indicates it originated in the village of Vernazza) from

the general production typical of the area: «Et ibi prope vinum de Vernaccia habetur, et vinum terrae illius optimum est»: Vernaccia and «vinum

In Dante, Vernaccia is the only wine ever mentioned by the poet in his entire monumental work: we are in Pur XXIV (lines 23-24), among the gluttonous, where it says that Pope Martin IV «[...] by fasting he purges the eels of Bolsena, and the Vernaccia wine». All the critics link this passage to the excellent white wine of the Cinque Terre, a wine which Martin IV may have probably used to soak the eels of Lake Bolsena in. If it was a mere white wine, why not choosing another type instead? Why was the wine from the Cinque Terre the preferred choice? In the Decameron, Boccaccio even imagines “a river” of Vernac-stive “Land of Bengodi” (VIII

III). In another novella, the disheartened Abbot of Cluny refreshes himself with a large glass of «Vernacia fromlate could have been relieved by a simple glass of white wine, a very common product all over Italy. Rosolio, a as popular tradition has it, would have certainly been more appropriate for this scene. It is no coincidence that centuries later Eugenio Montale would use these words when talking about Sciacchetrà: «if you drink it where it is produced and one hundred per cent authentic, it far surpasses that medicinalthat led «from Lerice to Turbia» (Pur III 49) towards France, clearly states in the Latin verses of his Africa that «[...] the vineyards [...] overlook Monterosso and the crests of Corniglia, celebrated everywhere for their sweet wine have all the evidence we need: the Vernaccia is indeed the Sciacchetrà, the typical straw wine of the Cinque Terre,

which was apparently given its current isolation. This state of isolation was only mitigated by the contacts with the Genoese merchants who made seasonal visits on their trading boats. As we have seen, the Riviera of Lunigiana is an inexhaustible source of Art and experience than that of walking along its paths – which are scattered among but also uphill on the ridge or on the inland hills of Levanto, Deiva Marina and Bonassola - reciting the verses of its immortal poets out loud. However, you can also enjoy a full immersion in meditative silence along the Road of Sanctuaries, all of which are called “Nostra Signora di...” (“Our Lady of…”). This common profound unity that has always boundceful seaside villages, which developed earlier than “medieval” times. Although the earliest written records date back to the 11th century, the history of these places has much deeper roots. Vernazza and its hamlet of Corniglia are referred to as Vulnetia and Cornelia in the Ravenna Cosmography (“The Cosmography of the Unknown Ravennese”), which dates back to the 7th century. On the other hand, the name “Cinque Terre” was mentioned for

Descriptio Orae Ligusticae by humanist Giacomo Bracelli from Sarzana.

RIOMAGGIORE (Sp)

The Rose windows of the Evangelists and the Luminous Nativity Scene of Manarola

Hamlet details

Everything has been written about the origin of the villages of the Cinque Terre. However, the name Corniglia is probably a Roman predial toponym, deriving from the Gens Cornelia, the ancient family that owned the land. This is not a whimsical hypothesis at all: it is supported by the discovery in Pompeii of ancient wine amphorae that carry the stamp of Cornelia. If all of this is true, the common tendency to place the origin of these coastal terraces in the Middle Ages is an enormous mistake. In any case, during his sea journey to France (->Lerici), Dante must have seen the perfectly structured terraces when he mentioned the Vernaccia wine (the famous Sciacchetrà), which had already been celebrated by Salimbene from Parma (->Cinque Terre) a few decades earlier. One could even think that itded by the terraces that gave the Supreme

Poet the idea of describing the Ligurian coasts overhanging the sea as convenient stairs compared to the colossal base of the Mount of Purgatory (Pur III 49-51)! If we consider the Riomaggiore date back to 1251, when the inhabitants of the district of Carpena (in the to the Republic of Genoa. The construction of the parish church of San Giovanni Battista dates back to the 14th century. We know, however, that when the painter Telemaco Signorini (1835-1901), a leading member of the Macchiaioli, came across this village in 1860, he described an almost “prehistoric” environment, meaning that the entire coastline of the Cinque Terre had fallen into an exceptional isolation for some centuries. The only steady contacts were probably those with the Genoese merchants who came here on their barges

construction of the La Spezia - Sestri Levante railway, inaugurated in 1874. Since then, the Cinque Terre have inspired a truly exceptional artistic production. Riomaggiore, in particular, and its sister town Manarola, were the

of marine transparencies carried out by Antonio Discovolo (1874-1956) and Giuseppe Caselli (1893-1976). The villages were alsoseppe Arigliano (1917-1999). As far as Poetry is concerned, these extraordinary landscapes can be found in the passionate sestets Poema del Mare (“Poem of the Sea”) (1884-1971), in the heart-rending lyrics of Vincenzo Cardarelli (1887-1859) and in the simplicity of the famousnes by Nobel Prize winner Eugenio Montale (1896-1981).

This extraordinary production represents the key elements that are really worth looking for in these places. Seeing the vineyards overlooking the sea as you descend from the top of the Sentiero Verde (the ridge trail: a sort of coastal High Route), or admiring them as you walk along the very romantic Sentiero Azzurro (“Blue trail”), of which the Riomaggiore-Manarola stretch is known all over the world as the Via dell’Amore (“The Way of Love”), is the true essence -

que Terre. Strolling among the agaves and prickly pears while being immersed in the scents of the Maquis shrubland, standing among the vineyards and the ancient olive

trees in the dazzling sunshine and with the immense sea right in front of you (on some days Corsica can be seen so clearly as if it were a few steps away) is a truly unforgettable experience.

with their enchanting carugi (narrow streets between houses) and the marvellous ->Rose windows of their churches. And when you discover that the visionary mastermind of a retired worker of the State Railways managed to turn an entire hill into the ->Luminous Nativity Scene of Manarola, you realise that, apart from Nature, Creativity is the real sovereign here.

Ammirate il maestoso panorama e il mare di Riomaggiore mentre assaggiate i nostri piatti e cocktails, creati con amore e serviti con un sorriso. Un viaggio dei sensi: una musica affascinante, una brezza che vi accarezza e prodotti di alta qualità scelti con cura per offrirvi un’esperienza magica e indimenticabile.

Riomaggiore and its sea while tasting our dishes and cocktails made with love and served with a smile.

A real journey of the senses: charming music, a caressing breeze and high quality products chosen with care to offer a magical and unforgettable experience.

AN ORIGINAL WORK FROM THE 14TH CENTURY

The parish church of Riomaggiore is dedicated to Saint John the Baptist. Built by the Antelami Masters, it was conceived as a basilica with three naves, commissioned by Antonio Fieschi, Bishop of Luni. The construction dates back to 1340, as can be read on a commemorative plaque on the right side of the church. However, the neo-Gothic façade is probably the result of restorations that took place in 1870, following a collapse. The statues of the Four Evangelists, which adorn the rose window in perfect symmetry, together with two beau-

tiful double-arched windows, probably date back to 1903, which is the date inscribed on the base of the large statue of Saint John the Baptist, located at the top of the façade.

The exquisite Rose window, also made of white Carrara marble, is an original piece belonging to the period of construction, a true th century. Given the symmetry of the 19th century statues, it is here called Rosone degli Evangelisti (“Rose Window of the Evangelists”) to better distinguish it from the other exquisite rose windows that adorn the façades of the most important churches of the Cinque Terre.

Inside the church, there are other treasures to be admired, including a painting of Saint John, presumably by Domenico Fiasella from Sarzana (1589-1669), the greatest exponent of Baroque in Lunigiana and one of the leading members of the Genoese school.

THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS NATIVITY SCENE

If Monterosso is famous worldwide thanks to Montale, if Vernazza is famous for having given its name to the local Vernaccia grape variety (which was only later brought to Tuscany) and for the homonymous wine that, as we

- a hamlet belonging to the municipality of Riomaggiore - owes its fame to the extraordinary Luminous Nativity Scene . The entire hill above the seaside village, known as Tre Croci (“Three Crosses”), was once characterised by the clear representation of Golgotha. Hence the brilliant intuition of Mario Andreoli , now in his nineties and a former State Railways employee, to set up a luminous nativity scene on the hilltop using makeshift materials and, for years, consuming his own electricity. It all began in 1963 and today, with the 60th edition which, as usual,

Il Presepe Luminoso di Manarola

has been entrusted to the CAI (“Italian alpine club”) of La Spezia , the whole summit of the mountain, now counting bulbs, lights up giving life (like the Madonna Bianca in Portovenere) to one of the most suggestive sights in the world. From the 8th of December until the end of January, this extraordinary representation is an unmissable attraction even for cruise ships tourists. If the Cinque Terre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997, it is partly due to this truly exceptional masterpiece.

Mario Andreoli has not received the recognition he deserves yet. The Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies, being aware of of the Nativity Scene, awarded him the ‘Pax Dantis’ Prize in 2015. His invention is worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, though.ready written in History: the real history of the Olympus of Giants.

MONTEROSSO AL MARE (Sp)

St. Francis and the Wolf, the decorated Rose Window of St. John the Baptist, The Giant, the Icon of Our Lady of Soviore

Hamlet

details

With its Punta Mesco promontory, the village of Monterosso al Mare marks the westernmost area of the Cinque Terre.

The village is divided into two parts, separated by a spur of rock crossed by a short tunnel: the new part is called Fegina, which boasts a large sandy beach and a railway station; the other part is the old village, characterised by the inextinguishable charm of its network of typical Ligurian squares and carugi (“alleyways”).

the ->Statua del Gigante (“Statue of the Giant”) and

Villa Montale, where the Nobel Prize winner spent summers in his youth. In Rose

window of the Church of San Giovanni Battista, an exceptional example of marble lacemaking; in the conventual complex of the Cappuccini you can Van Dyck

(“Saint Fran cis with the wolf”).

Sanctuary of Soviore so follows that of the other villages of

bably more ancient, as in the case of «in loco Monte Russo». The preservation of anchovies in brine

LA BARCACCIA

Ristorante - Pizzeria

Proponiamo una cucina espressa creata con portate tipiche della tradizione ligure dall’antipasto al dolce. Da non perdere nel menù “La Barcaccia” di paccheri, piatto simbolo del locale, senza trascurare la pizza con impasto di farina macinata a pietra, ad alta digeribilità.

‘anchovies with green sauce’shing using lampare was a popular activity that was also re lyric:ats the acetylene pulses.» (from Arsenio, activity, it was the women who were exclusively in charge of the sale of the

dishes of the Ligurian tradition, from starterts to desserts. Not to be missed on the menu “La Barcaccia” paccheri, digestable.

Via Molinelli 6/8 Monterosso al Mare (SP)

Tel. +39 0187.818108

Mob. +39 333.4442792

ristorantelabarcaccia@hotmail.it

THE DOUBLE FACE OF THE FIORETTO

The beautiful statue of San Francesco e il lupo (“St. Francis and the wolf”), one of the most charming statues among those dedicated to the Patron Saint of Italy, is located in a breathtaking landscape, right at the end of the panoramic walk that goes

from the ancient village of Monterosso to the Convent of the Capuchin Friars. The subject of this art piece is narrated in chapter XXI of The Little Flowers of Saint Francis: the fearsome wolf of Gubbio became suddenly tame upon seeing the Saint. The bronze monument is the work of sculptor

San Francesco e il lupo

Silvio Monfrini from Monza (1894-1969)

as “moving” would be an understatement for anyone who retains a modicum of sensitivity: the image of the wolf, which is stretching its head towards the Saint, who is in turn leaning towards the animal with an open hand, is one that

instinctive behaviour of a child with the father. It is the idyllic scene of an ideal World in which life would be dreamy. It is no wonder that every year thousands and thousands of tourists come here to take pictures of this masterpiece, truly fascinated by the place and by the intense atmosphere of meditation and prayer. However, the idea of a universal society where the wolf and the lamb can an ideal borderline case. It is the literary art of the Middle Ages, -

tion coexisted (as we can clearly see in the work of our great father Dante), that suggests the need to further explore the genre of Wisdom literature, and not necessarily the texts about Heaven. The legend certainly calls to mind the Islamic desert, where Francis tried to convert the

image of Francis that should be interpreted in the same way: the one where he is speaking with birds. To speak “in the language of birds” actually means to dispense Wisdom using an allegorical language that only the greatest can grasp. Centuries later, in Act II of Siegfried, the -

dable The Ring of the Nibelung tetralogy, the designated hero would realize, to his amazement, to be able to understand this same language in the scene of the sacred wood.

Saint Francis and Wagner: a never-before-seen relationship. But Europe, the truly great, deep, invincible Europe, is summed up in these two apparently op-

other words: the essence of the Knights Templar. Dante hovers above them all: he is the demigod who has reached the highest level possible. Today he is calling us to order: the time has come for new Heroes.

B aico, il laboratorio artigianale che produce pesto genovese e tramanda la tradizione ligure in tutto il mondo, con i suoi profumi. Oltre al pesto, potete trovare anche altri prodotti locali e tipici.

Baico, the artisan workshop that produces Genoese pesto, and passes on the Ligurian tradition all over the world, with its scents. Apart from pesto you can also typical products.

Il Rosone ornato di San Giovanni Battista

THE ART OF LACEMAKING WITH MARBLE

The parish church of Monterosso, dedicated to St John the Baptist, Genoese Gothic

The internal structure has a basilica-like plan, i.e. with three naves. The walls diverge in the direction of the choir, making the presbytery look more majestic.

One of the columns (the second of the colonnade on the left) is engraved with the dates of the construction of the temple, 1244-1307, written in medieval characters.

Inside, there is a baptismal font from 1360 and a painting of the Madonna del Rosario (“Our Lady of the Rosary”) by the school of Luca Cambiaso.

From the parvis, you can admire the extraordinary Rose window, located in a central position and made of perforated white marble, in all its beauty. It is attributed to Matteo and Pietro da Campiglio.

of Decorated Gothic, with laces made of marble which are the beautiful result of the mastery of the artists. Eighteen small columns, which alternate bewteen plain and twisted style, radiate from the centre. From the columns, eighteen intertwined three-foiled arches de-

terns, enclose this ray-like structure. This whole ensemble is in turn enclosed by a system of three larlevels, which provide a remarkable frame.

The three-level structure and the Rose window in all its glory: they can be seen as the Three Kingdoms and the triumph of the Visio Dei, which is the exact structure of the Divine Comedy. However, the

THE ETERNAL CLASSICISM OF WOUNDED NEPTUNE

The statue of Neptune, commonly referred to as Il Gigante (“The Giant”), is all that remains of an imposing work made of reinforced concrete which was built as an integral part of the rocky spur that marks the western limit of the beach in Fegina. The sculpture was created in 1910 by sculptor Arrigo Minerbi -

death mask was moulded by the sculptor himself in 1938) – and it represen-

project of Giovanni Pastine, a wealthy and ambitious lawyer from Monterosso whose ancestors had made their fortune in Argentina. Ironically, his sumptuous villa was destroyed in a bombing raid during World War II and, consequently, the statue of Neptune was also badly damaged: today it is a crippled statue missing the sumptuous large shell that once overlooked the sea from the garden of the house.

The Giant was 14 metres high and weighed 170 tonnes. It originally appeared like a decidedly kitsch representation, but today, being a fascinating art piece of the past, it stands out as a masterpiece of the classical period to which its mythological theme is directly linked. When the new owners of the property decided to tear it down after the war, they were met with the staunchest opposition from the whole town, even though Villa Pastine had been the object of general ridicule since it was built. Neptune himself was not exempt from criticism, and he drew the cutting remarks of a young Montale when he claimed that the ancient Casa dei Dogawhich, truth be told, was highly idealised) had been destroyed, rather than salvaged. The poet had immortalised this House in one of his most joyful poems (La casa dei doganieri “The house , 1930, in Le occasioni, 1939).

M F Il assimo della

Dal 2009 Massimo e Daniela, insieme al loro staff, preparano ogni giorno, con passione,

come piccoli pandolci genovesi, baci di dama, biscotti al limone e molto altro ancora....

E very day, since 2009 Massimo, Daniela and their staff prepare food with passion, Ligurian focaccias, pizzas, savoury pies, yummy cakes such as Genoese pandolce, ladies kisses (baci di dama), lemon biscuits and much more.

THE PIETY OF LIGURIA’S OLDEST

MARIAN SHRINE

Tradition approached, back in 629, the inland popula-

buried a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary to hide it from the iconoclastic fury of the barbarian invaders. Over a century later, around 740 (the same period mentioned in the Leboinic Legend, ->Ameglia), the statue

documents from the 12th century that place the origin of the celebration of the Virgin Mary of Soviore four centuries earlier. At dawn, in the middle of a hunting session, a priest from Monterosso saw a white dove that was strangely sitting on a tumbledown hut, as if it wanted to show him something.

He followed it inside the hut and he saw that the animal kept appearing and disappearing under the ground without there being any passage, and a very sweet scent rose from the spot where this miracle took place. The next day, with the help of some believers, the parish priest started digging and the holy icon was found. The people who were present tried to take the relic but they realised that it was impossible. Therefore, it temporarily remained in that place as an object of devotion and pilgrimage. It soon became a source of healing and supernatural wonders. One morning, to their great surprise, people saw that it had moved to a chestnut tree, located a little higher up. The believers took the icon to the original location many times, but the following morning the Virgin was always back on top of the chestnut tree. The people of the village realised that the Virgin should have been left in the place she herself had chosen. As a consequence of this event, in the 8th century, the oldest Marian sanctuary in Liguria was built

the birth of Charlemagne, the father of the Holy empire. The perimeter walls of the original structure were discovered during

important archaeological excavations. Since 1999, thanks to the great Jubilee restoration works, the ancient remains have been displayed to believers throuof the present church. The sanctuary, which was mentioned in a document from 1225, underwent aath pandemic (1348), when it was used as a shelter for pilgrims, and took its th century. Sin-

ce May 11th 1974, Our Lady of Soviore has been the Patron Saint of the Diocese of La Spezia, Sarzana and Brugnato, making it the most important place of worship in the whole territory. Located within a sumptuous Baroque marble frame, Our Lady of Soviore is brought to Monterosso to be venerated by the of the Jubilee years.

However, the wooden icon that is venerated today is not the original. What we are able to admire is a 14th century art object clearly belonging to the Nordic tradition. In any case, it is an absolute masterpiece. Although it is a Pietà (the Virgin holds the body of Christ on her knees),we are not in front of a representation of Our Lady of Sorrows:ch is clearly reminiscent of this Pietà),

painting by Vermeer, in a state of eternal suspension: Mary, the announcer of the Resurrection, is waiting for her Son to come alive; it could happen at any moment. As we wait for our destiny suspension.

the Rhenish style of the Schœne Vesperbild (“Beautiful Pietà”), but the scene is -

did bas-relief at the Gothic entrance of the church, right under the pointed arch: this cameo of white Carrara marble, by an unknown artist, must have been added during the 18th century renovation works. In this bas-relief, the unsurpassed masterpiece.

FORESTERIA

Dispone di numerose camere a diverse tipologie (doppie, triple, multiple o comunicanti) per un totale di 100 posti letto.

RISTORANTE

Si apre sul piazzale ed è perfetto per una sosta dopo un trekking sui famosi sentieri del Parco delle Cinque Terre e di Levanto.

It has many rooms of different types (double, triple, large or communicating rooms) for a total of 100 beds. It overlooks the square and it is the perfect place where you can stop over after trekking along the famous paths of the Cinque Terre Park and Levanto.

LEVANTO (Sp)

The

Colonnade of the Municipal Loggia in Levanto, the Bust of Cavour, the wall frescoes of the Grottesche, the Dantesque Bench

Hamlet details

The recent discovery of a fragment of a Statue menhir in Levanto (2020), which was immediately entrusted to the care of the Museum of the Statue Stele in ->Pontremoethnographic territory of Lunigiana. The area of the Le-

vante coast, like the Valley of Vara and the Gulf of Poets, is an integral part of the region known as “Lunigiana Storica” (“Historical Lunigiana”).

cient history is represented by a village which was once named Ceula, located on the

hamlet of Montale. This ancient village, probably dating back to Roman times, was allegedly converted to Christia-

bishop of Pavia. The Parish church of Ceula-Montale was named after the Saint himself.

vanto that we know of is an act of loyalty to the Republic

of Genoa signed by the Da Passano family, vassals of the Malaspina, in 1132. Later, -

dal properties granted to Obizzo Malaspina the Great.

The Castle of San Giorgio and the great town walls, which today are almost intact (13th century), were built under the dominion of the Malaspina marquises. The romantic Torre dell’Orologio (“Clock

fond of, is part of the defensive perimeter. The town also proudly houses the -> Municipal Loggia in all its preciousness, a building belonging to those same ancient times. The unique frescoes of the ->Grottesche date back to the 16th century. Levanto is a splendid tourist town and it suits all tastes. With its Punta Mesco, it is part of the Cinque Terre National Park and of the Marine Reserve; its long sandy beach is a favourite destination for surfers; the old tunnels of the 19th century railway are a beautiful cycling route and the town centre, which is easy to reach, is a quiet and livable place even in the heart of the summer season. Villa Agnelli is a fascinating building: its large park overlooks the seafront Promenade of Levante, right above the spur of rock known as La Pietra (“The Stone”), where there is the dock for the steamboats going to the Tigullio or to the Cinque Terre, the Gulf of La Spezia

"Dadù appartamenti" dispone di appartamenti e camere dove poter trascorrere le proprie

Self Check-in. WIFI gratuito. Accessori e parcheggio compresi nel prezzo.

“Dadù appartamenti”

Self check in. Free WiFi. Bed sheets, towels and parking are included in the price.

LEVANTO • DEIVA MARINA • CHIAVARI • SESTRI LEVANTE • FOLGARIA

Rina, Levanto

Guido, Levanto

and its incomparable Archipelago. The Pietra is the place where the town of Levanto decided to leave a tangible sign to mark the 700th

-> the unique Panchina Dantesca (“Dantesque Bench”).

A typical dish in Levanto and the surroun-

ding hills is , large fried ravioli stuffed with wild herbs, onion, ricotta cheese, eggs and cheese. The wines, which received “Costiera Ligure del Levante”, are also highly sought after. The Verba Dantis of master

with its sanguine red colour, hot-blooded like Alighieri we may add, this wine is made from grapes that are locally grown. On the occasion of the celebration of the Patron Saint San Giacomo (Saint James) on the 25th of July, the traditional Parade of the Christs takes place through the streets of the historic centre. This is a spectacular parade where heavy crumembers of the local Confraternity, which is based in the 16th century Oratory dedicated to the saint. Trekking enthusiasts should not miss the path that, crossing the promontory of Mesco, links Levanto to the village of ->Monterosso.

AN EXAMPLE OF CULTURE AND PEACE

The present look of the Municipal Loggia of Levanto, in Piazza del Popolo, is the result of the renovation works that took place in the 16th century, during the Renaissance. It is highly probable that much of the original material was re-u-

sed in the process. As a proof of this, it is still possible to admire a precious slate epigraph that is believed to refer to the agreement of 1211 in which Levanto spontaneously joined the government of the Republic of Genoa: the foundation of the ancient town market can therefore be placed in that period. But there

is another slate epigraph enriched with four exquisite coats of arms, which has been listed by the General Catalogue of Cultural Heritage as evidence of the construction of the loggia during the administration of

Count of Lavagna, who was Chief magistrate of Levanto in 1405. This would therefore be the exact year of construction of the Loggia. However,site, even though it underwent renovation, it remains “one of the very few late-medieval buildings of this type to still survive in Liguria”. The monument consists of a series columns and two pillars at the ends. The wooden roof covers a trapezoidal surface on one level, which is about one metre higher than the square in front of it. Inside, there is a small room which was used as a municipal archive for a long time, since the end of the 18th century. Recently, a valuable fresco of the 15th century by an unknown artist, depicting an Annunciation scene, was miraculously discovered on an internal wall. The building, which, originally, was presumably entirely frescoed with religious scenes, following the tradition of the time, was awarded the special UNESCO recognition of “Monument Testifying Culture and Peace” in 2007.

Nei fondi di , luogo

simbolo di Levanto, troverete l’ Osteria Tumelin, baluardo del mangiar bene e della tradizione culinaria ligure dal 1970. Le specialità dell’osteria sono il pesce, le aragoste vive, i frutti di mare e i dolci artigianali.

In the basement ofnato, a landmark in Levanto, you will Osteria Tumelin, the right place for eating good traditional Ligurian food since 1970. Its specialities are , live lobsters, seafood and home made desserts.

Adelmo Massola

Conte di Cavour

THE PRACTICAL REASON OF THE RISORGIMENTO (“RESURGENCE”)

How could Lunigiana not have a tribute to the great statesman, cousin of Virginia Oldoini, the famous Countess of Castiglione (->La Spezia)?

The man who, during the Risorgimento, did not hesitate to exploit the irrepressible vanity of one of the most fascinating women of the 19th century to advocate the goals of his country, truly deserves a tribute from our region. Especially given the fact that

Virginia would have given half her life to reach the French Court and she received what she wanted in exchange for a small service of great patriotic value.

But Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour (1810-1861), was -

na not only for the events related to the beautiful and eternally restless woman who spent much of her youth in La Spezia: Cavour promoted the construction of the Naval Base, an idea that was originally conceived by Napoleon. However, only Cavour was able to fully understand the potential of the project. He resumed the plan with decisiveness and in 1857, as Prime Minister and Minister of the Navy, he entrusted DomeniGenio (a body of the Italian Navy) who later became general, with the project of the new Italian naval base of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea. Even though Cavour never saw the completed work (works began in 1862, a year after his

Camillo Benso

sudden and premature death), La Spezia owes its innovation to him. The city, however, only celebrated ->Giuseppe Garibaldi and Domenico Chiodo with two great monuments. The fact that thesideration is a real shame.

Count Benso was honoured by Levanto with a beautiful bust made of Carrara -

re column, which is embellished with a bas-relief of the coat of arms of the Kingdom surmounted by the imperial eagle.

We do not know the name of the artist, but we certainly do know that it was donated to the town by the mayor of the time, Cavalier Giuseppe Vannoni, during a solemn ceremony held on September 23rd 1900.

The Cavour in Levanto is looking in the distance; this valuable work adequately interprets the far-sightedness of the world-renowned statesman. This man, who had dismissed the movement of

conceived the nation as a confederation of four states supported by an honorary presidency of the Pope and governed by the Kingdom of Piedmont: in this extre-nment are combined following a purely nationalistic approach. Everyone simplistically talks about Cavour as a great politician but, above all, he deserves to be analysed as a philosophical genius.

Via Marconi, 4 - Levanto (SP)

Tel./Fax (+39) 0187 808146 · Mob. (+39) 334 1196687 info@hotelpalazzovannoni.it · www.hotelpalazzovannoni.it CITR: 011017-ALB-0003

Hotel nel cuore di Levanto, a 100 metri dal mare, a 5 minuti a piedi dalla stazione e a pochi passi da bar, ristoranti e negozi. Ubicato nell’omonimo storico palazzo nobiliare, l’Hotel dispone di 11 eleganti camere, ristrutturate, climatizzate ed alcune affrescate, ristrutturate e climatizzate. Wifi gratuito. Parcheggio su richiesta.

H165

otel Palazzo Vannoni is strategically located in the historic centre of Levanto, 100 meters from the sea, 5 minutes walk from the train station and a few steps away from bars, restaurants and shops. It is located on the first floor of a historic building bearing the same name. Hotel Palazzo Vannoni has 11 elegant and comfortable rooms, some with frescos, all renovated, with air conditioning and free-Wifi. Parking on request.

THE POPULAR DIMENSION OF A GREAT ART

Strolling through the historic centre of Levanto, on the corner of Via Garibaldi and Via Vinzoni, you surprisingly come across a building whose façade has, under the winof monochromatic frescoes depicting nine called by the villagers with the name “Grottesche”, which is actually an erudite word. The “grottesche” (“grotesques”) are a form of pictorial decoration that originated during the Augustan period in Rome (1st century BC). This type of painting was ignored for 1500 years until it was rediscovered and made famous with the advent of the

Renaissance.

In his autobiography, Benvenuto Cellini informs his readers that the term derives from the caves on the Esquiline Hill in Rome (the underground remains of what was Domus Aurea), which were discovered in 1480 and immediately became so popular as to represent a mandatory destination for the greatest artists of the time (Pinturicchio, Filippino Lippi and Signorelli

Holding their torches, they would descend into the caves to study these previously unknown patterns.

The “grotesque” decoration, according to the classical meaning of the term, is elaborately characterised by imaginary cre-

atures such as chimeras, pegasuses, satyrs, sphinxes, winged genies, which

if they were mere appearances in the background. The immense Raphael, who became the undisputed pioneer of the new artistic canon thanks to his creations, and especially to the phantasmagoria of the Vatican Loggias (1517of painting. The art of the Grotesques - which in the fresco technique was systematically used to link spaces, especially between complex forms such as lunettes, arches and columns - may have been later contaminated by a certain amount of mocking caricatures, which were mastered by supreme artists such as Leonardo and Michelangelo in their world-famous workshops. This hypothesis would better explain the transformation of the usage of the term “grotesque” over time, up to its current, well-known meaning. However, the characters in the Levanto series do not display those exaggerated traits typical of that style which is a mixture of shallow triviality and pungent sarcasm. Oscillating between chronicle and caricature, austerity and facetiousness, the fresco of Levanto offers a wide range of interpretations: it may be the illustration of good or bad popular scenes depicted by the artist in the form of arts and crafts and easily recognisable characters, or just a good tavern hosting the most common types within the great human diversity. Who knows!

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167

THE BEWITCHING MELODY OF ULYSSES’ MERMAID

Like most Italian municipalities, Levanto celebrated the great father Dante on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of his de-

cant way, avoiding the usual sterile events aimed at propaganda or advertising, choosing instead a solid project with its own structure. The Literary Bench (a trend which apparently originated in London and has been now extended to Europe), was one of the many possible solutions and, even if it is not the most original idea, it has fully achieved the intended goal. The one in Levanto is precisely a Dantesque bench. It is shaped like a book and it further embellishes the beautiful seafront promenade that leads to the Pietra (“Stone”), where the steamboats arrive and depart.

The monument centres around one of

the most famous and fascinating Cantos of the Divine Comedy: Inferno XXVI, the onediately reminded of the immortal verses of the «Orazion picciola» (“Little speech”), when the Greek hero fraudulently harangues his crew and incites them to undertake a towards «a world without people». But that famous passage, the immense «you were not made to live like brutes/ but to follow virtue and knowledge», is not featured here and this may cause disappointment to some people. The truth is that it was decided to pick less famous verses and the choice fell on the tercets about navigation, a topic that is closer to the history of the town. There are precisely twelve lines, from 100 to 111: four -

ney from Gaeta to the Pillars of Hercules. We are saying this in hushed tones: the Strait of Gibraltar is not the real problem that Dante was exposing through the age-

old enigma of Ulysses. If God had really wanted to set a limit to our Knowledge, the whirlpool that swallowed the Greek ship would have hit at the moment of the profanation of the passage and not when the ship was approaching the sacred mountain of Purgatory, which is located at the antipodes of Jerusalem, and therefore on the other side of the world.

lars of “Hercules”? Since when is Hercules God?

Unfortunately, at this point we must

have enough space here to shed light on such an important and complex matter. We can only encourage all of you to attend the performance of the Via Dantis (->Mulazzo): there, in the Odyssey on the edges of the Divine Comedy, the whole issue regarding

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THE VALLEY OF VARA

The Organic Kingdom

When talking about ->Lerici, we said that the Ligurian arch that Dante indicated with the famous verse «Between Lerice and Turbìa» (Pur III 49) was already present in the Tabula Peutingeriana (“Peutinger Table”), a military road map of the Roman-Imperial age which, at the level of the Gulf of La Spezia, showed the fol-

lowing words: «In Alpe Pennino u. Boron». Thanks to this exceptional document we know that Luni was connected to the south by the Aemilia-Scauri, a road built by the Roman censor M. Aemilius Scaurus in 109 BC as a continuation of the Aurelia, in the area where this road was interrupted by the insalubrious Pisan Maremma; from there, the consular road led to the ancient Boaceas Ceparana, located in the Magra plain, with the Vara river), a place that was even mentioned in the Geography of Claudius Ptolemy. However, the toponym “Boron”, which later appeared in the Byzantine carto-

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graphy by the Unknown Ravennese and has been a centuries-old enigma in the historiography of Lunigiana, has absolutely nothing to do with the Gulf of La Spezia: Boron is the mountain east of Nice (Mont Boron) to which, according to Strabo, the ancient Via Herculea led. We owe the interpretation of this passage to Ferruccio Egori, an independent scholar from Massa: the abbreviation “u.” stands for the Latin word “usque”,

from La Spezia - take the high route (‘the

Basically, the Peutinger Table has always indicated the route along the Apennine ridge, today known as the “Alta Via dei Monti Liguri” (“High Route of the Ligurian Mountains”), which is the pride and joy of Val di Vara. This route begins in Ceparana, which was the ancient Boaceas in Ptolemy. Recently, during a conference organised by the MangiaTrekking Association, Professor Bruno De Francesco, through the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi (“Lunigianese Centre for Dante Studies”), launched the idea of building a Monument to the High Route of the Ligurian Mountains, right at the beginning of the route, in Ceparana. These studies show that at the dawn

of the 14th century, the geographical indication of the Ligurian arch was still the same as that of the Roman imperial cartography of over a millennium earlier. Dante, although he travelled by sea du-

a journey that started in 1314 to join the Italian cardinal delegation in the conclave in Carpentras, as told by Boccaccio in his Vita, wanted to indicate the arch with a motif that resonated with the natural

Well, it would not be a bad idea if the Valley of Vara area or Land of Organic Farming, which is known in Europe as one of the regions with the least anthropic footprint (it is considered even “greener” than the Black Forest in Germany) safeguarded its precious territory with a fourth regional park in Lunigiana: the High Route of the Ligurian Mountains of La Spezia.

Val di Vara is so abundant with Nature that it is also a heaven for mineral seekers. There are not just the ->Apuan Alps. In Valley of Vara, they discovered a manganese compound that had never

the name of Varaite: it has a reddish-purple colour and comes in granules or crystals. The presence of chromite, a pretty

rare mineral in Italy, is also worthy of note. In the past, several small mines were active in Valey of Vara (manganese, iron, copper and even some rare metals) and, in the hamlet of Carro, the Permanent Mineralogical Museum was founded thanks to the donation of Dino Salatti, an enthusiastic local researcher and collector.

Still on the topic of minerals, a visit to what can be considered an authentic

open-air museum, that is the Eneolithic jasper quarries of the Valley of Lagorara in Maissana, is not to be missed: it is a true prehistoric lithic “factory” whose speof ancient spearheads and arrowheads, burins and daggers. However, the activity of the quarry was mainly aimed at selling craftsmen rather than at manufacturingtation can be placed between 3500 and 2000 BC.

Today, the main economic activity in Valley of Vara is cattle breeding, which pro-

production of very high quality dairy products, especially in the area of ->Varese Ligure. The Facciòn, which are also considered to be a prehistoric heritage, are typical sculptures that decorate the walls of the most ancient houses in Valley of Vara: they are apotropaic masks, i.e. deaway demons and evil spirits.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

PAOLO DE NEVI, Val di Vara un grido, un canto, Edizioni Centro Studi Val di Vara, Sarzana, 1988.

173

VARESE LIGURE (Sp)

The Victory of Ersanilli

Hamlet details

The village of Varese Ligure, in the Upper Valley of Vara, is the heart of the “Organic Valley” farms that supply raw materials to local cooperatives for the production and sale of top-quality meat and cheese. It is no

municipality to obtain environmental cer-

gnised it as the best rural community in the continent.

Walking, trekking, horse riding, moun-

ducts, peacefulness and even classical music: this is the magic formula that Varese Ligure uses to promote the perfect relaxing holiday.

Even driving along the panoramic road that leads to Valley of Taro through the Passo di Cento Croci, the undisputed kingdom of

the Buzzard, is a pure immersion in living nature.

As far as the History of the place is concerned, we know that in 1161 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa granted the village

the origins of the village probably date to an earlier period (some people think that the ancient part of Grexino is a clear Byzantine toponym). It was under the dominion of the Fieschi family that the entire Borgo Rotondo and the defensive castle were built. The structure of the Fieschi Castle mainly consists of two for“Torre del Piccinino” and it was named after the captain of fortune who conquered the castle on behalf of the Visconti family and had the tower built in 1435; the other is known as the “Torre del Landi” because it was built by this new owner in

1472. The castle was recently donated to the Municipality by the last owners and it has since become a new centre of cultural activities that involve the community of Varese.

Right at the threshold of the town we th century Palazzo Ferrari, whose private chapel hosted the wedding of Domenico Pallavicini and Luigia Ferrari, the iconic woman who eternalised the concept of themous ode To Luigia Pallavicini Fallen from a Horse. A visit to the Cooperativa Casearia Val di Vara, which produces high-quality organic cheese and cured meats, is highly recommended. After one taste,

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La Vittoria di Ersanilli

THE LOST SOUL OF THE ITALIAN FLAG

The War Memorial in Varese Ligure, as indicated by the inscription on the base, was created by sculptor Roberto Ersanilli (1869-1944) from Zoagli. It was inaugurated on September 28th 1924 as a tribute to the soldiers who died during World War I. Even though the monument, like other works of the same period (->La Spezia, ->Bagnone, -> Pontremoli), is a clear Allegory of Victory, it was later used to commemorate the victims of World War II.

Located at the centre of Piazza Biasot-

a hedge, the monument consists of a square base with steps, which supports a sort of marble obelisk made

the very top, a bronze group of three eagles stands out. At the front, near the central element with a truncated -

gure of a in resting position. On the base there are two commemorative plaques: the original one is a tribute to the victims from Varese who died in the period 1915-18; the other one was added at a

later time to remember the victims of the (extended) period 1935-45. The artist originally conveyed the theme of the Victory by simply using a set of three eagles. The reference to the Italian Flag is quite obvious. It can therefore be said that Ersanilli mainly wanted to celebrate the great positive force that resulted from the unity of the Country. The position of the soldier with the typical “Resting” position is another clear symbol of the achieved

not over and things would never be the same again. Sadly, World War II disrupted the unity that Italy had managed -

ce during the Great War. To this day, our Country has a deeply divided soul. Divided but not wounded, and that is the real tragedy. How can we go back to the original state of things? Perhaps,

is Faith and Red is Charity. The lost secret is none other than the meaning of the three Theological Virtues. A return

new Renascence.

BRUGNATO (Sp)

The “Lapide di Piazza” (“Plaque of Piazza”) and the icon of

Saint Columbanus

the Longobard era (7th and 8th centuries), when, in Valley of Vara, the monks of the Bobbio Abbey expanded their invaluable activity aimed at preserving the Christian tradition and built a monastery which over time grew to become a centre of crucial importance.

This took place a few decades before the enlightened period of King Liutprand, who was responsible for the annexation of Lunigiana to Italy (742); the Leboinic Legend of the Holy Cross (->Ameglia) belongs to this exact same period. The imperial discharge papers of Charles the Great (881), Otto III (996) and Henry II (1014) all refer to Liutprand.

Brugnato was under the protection of the Republic of Genoa from the 12th century onwards, and in the same period (1133) Innocent II promoted it to the status of Episcopal seat and thus the ancient time.

Today, the ancient legacy of that diocese is still solidly preserved by the La Spezia-

Sarzana-Brugnato diocese. The increased power of this territory inevitably led to clashes and contrasts

Hamlet details

between the most important families of the time. In 1215 Conrad Malaspina the Old, mentioned by Dante in Canto VIII of Purgatory and author of the dynastic division into Spino Secco “Dried Thorn” (Ghibellines) and Spino Fiorito “Blooming Thorn” (Guelphs), claimed his own family rights over the village and many of the surrounding lands (the Malaspina family had ruled over the whole Bobbio area since the 12th century) and succeeded in temporarily occupying Brugnato. The immediate intervention of Genoa led to the Fieschi being appointed vice lords of Brugnato. Following the alliance between the Malaspina and the Fieschi, which was sealed by the happy marriage between Alagia and Moroello II di Giovagallo (who were among the greatest protagonists in

the Malaspina continued to permeate the entire Valley of Vara for a long time. The presence of the Malaspina in Brugnato came to an end only over the course of the 16th century. It is safe to say that Brugnato is the heart of Valley of Vara. In the well-preserved historic centre, you must absolutely visit the Cocattedrale dei Santi Pietro, Lorenzo e Colombano (“Co-cathedral of Saints Peter, Lawrence and Columbanus”) - with its splendid 15th century frescoed column depicting a beautiful image of Saint Columbanus with the typical gesture of blessing, the Diocesan Museum – located in the Bishop’s Palace (next to the Co-cathedral) – which houses authentic artistic and archaeological treasures, and the Oratory of Saint Bernard, with its bronze portal by sculptor Pietro Ravecca. Canestrelli, which are a type of soft wild fennel, are typical biscuits from Brugnato.

La Lapide di Piazza

THE EPISTLE FROM HEAVEN

In the beautiful Diocesan Museum of Brugnato there is a devotional white marble stele from the church of Santa Maria Assunta in Piazza, a hamlet of Deiva Marina. It is known by historical-archaeological experts as the “Lapide di Piazza” (“Plaque of Piazza”); it is 120 cm high, 44 cm wide and 15 cm deep.

The great importance of this monument is especially due to its engraved inscription, whose characters clearly indicate that it belongs to the end of the 7th th century.

It was a time where the region was missionary work of the monks of the Bobbio Abbey (Italian: Abbazia di San Colombano). It has been rightly assumed that the stele was manu-

ly, because the Bobbio Abbey had a Scriptorium (“a place for writing”); secondly, because of the closeness between the hamlet of Piazza and Brugnato, whose cathedral, built on a pre-existing unit dating from the same period as the plaque, is also dedicated to ->St. Columbanus.

We should also examine the three saints mentioned in the inscription: Michael was very dear to the Longobards (who, by then, had been completely converted), while Martin and George were particularly venerated by the Byzantines. This combination of saints is not accidental and it certainly shows that in the region,

monks, the former Aryan invaders (who, at the time of King Rothari, had carried out unspeakable massacres) and the native Christian population had overcome their ancient religious

The inscribed text is the famous “Epistola Domini Nostri” (“Domini Nostri

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Epistle”), an apocrypha of the New Testament that was very popular at the time and was considered to have come directly from Heaven. The opening words of the epistle strongly support this idea: «Inizia la Lettera di Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo Salvatore/mandata dai Cieli/per il giorno santo e glorioso/ della Domenica» (“Here begins the Epistle of Sunday”).

Obviously, the main message of this heavenly letter is to exhort people to observe the holy celebrations. However, the persuapunishments, explains why the letter was included among the apocryphal works. In any case, the stele is a truly exceptional monument: apart from being the only existing transcription on stone of the Epistle of Christ, it is also one of the oldest examples of heavenly letter.

L’icona di San Colombano

THE SAINT OF THE LONGOBARDS

The Cattedrale dei Santi Pietro Lorenzo e Colombano (“Cathedral of Saints Peter Lawrence and Columbanus”) in Brugnato was built on the site of an ancient place of worship. Archaeological excavations clearly revealed the remains of the buildings that existed prior to the present church. The oldest structure is a chapel dating back to the Byzantine era (6th century); this chapel later became the original site of a monastery of monks which was established between the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th century. Tradition has it that Saint Columbanus himself was one of the founders.

The existence of the temple is documented as early as the 8th century during the reign of Liutprand, the Christian king responsible for the annexation of Lunigiana to the Longobard Kingdom of Italy. The prestige of the monastic community of Bobbio, who founded the Brugnato monastery, is widely proved by the donations and privileges that the Longobard sovereigns granted to its abbots. This devotional centre even stood in the way of the powerful bishops of Luni.

This is how we should interpret Pope -

ve Brugnato from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Luni, thus subjecting it to the Apostolic See and electing it as episcopal see. It was only in 1820 that the La Spezia territory was uni-

Diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato was established.

The most important artistic element of the cathedral is a frescoed column with a splendid polychrome image of Saint Columbanus. It is not a particularly old painting: it belongs to the 15th century, to the period of Humanism.

APUANIA

The eternity of Art in the whiteness of marble

The Apuania area in Lunigiana corresponds to the sea side of the Apuan Alps, including the entire sandy coastline stretching from the plain of Luni to Montignoso. The name derives from the ancient and very proud population of the Ligurian Apuans, creators of the Statues menhir (->Pontremoli, ->La Spezia), anthropomorphic megaliths of European importance. A poetic theory, bordering between Neoclassicism and Romanticism, saw the light at the beginning of the 20th century thanks to Ceccardo Roccatagliata Ceccardi, who attributed the origin of the term to the mythical Apua, who some

our very own capital of the Valley of Magra.

The Apuan Alps range is undoubtedly unique: it rises up to almost 2,000 metres above sea level and even if none of its mountains reach the precise threshold

have been called in this way since the 19th century in view of their absolute exceptionality.

From a geological point of view, the moun-

more ancient origins. The Apuan Alps are mainly made up of limestone rocks which gave us that precious and extremely famous quality of marble.

It is a karstic area and a source of mineral and thermal waters. The entire mountain basin hides enormous underground caves, such as those of Equi Terme, where the Tecchia is a cave that was visited by the Neanderthal subspecies. The entire Lunigiana territory has been uninterruptedly inhabited by humans since those ancient times. The most popular mountains among hikers are Pisanino (1,946), Pizzo d’Uccello (1,781) and Monte Sagro (1,752). These mountains can be climbed through paths that are well frequented not only by expert

hikers but also by amateurs, so much so that, unfortunately, the list of fatal accidents is very long: like our sea, the Apuan Alps must always be treated with utmost when climbing them.

The Apuan Alps were mentioned by classic Latin authors together with the town of Luni (which was certainly founded by the Romans, even though a portus lunae must have existed before their conquest) and Strabo referred to them as the Lunae montes. Dante mentioned them on twonunzio were not immune to their charm.

The undisputed kingdom of the golden eagle, the Apuan Alps are an authentic natural heaven, a zoological and botanical oasis, and an essential destination for mineral seekers. The maps showing the trails are packed with breathtaking routes, which can be more or less challenging, such as

miss the ancient quarry-museum of Fantiscritti, which was visited by Michelangelo and Canova several times.

Last but not least, the historic centre of ->Carrara, the world capital of marble, and the castle of the Malaspina-Cybo in ->Massa.

MASSA CARRARA (Ms)

The Fantiscritti high-relief, the Fountain of Beatrice and Pope John by Riccardo Rossi

The origins of the two Apuan towns are indisputably pre-Roman. They were inhabited by the proud Ligurian Apuans, the people of the Statues menhir (->Pontremoli). In the Peutinger Table (->Lerici; ->Val di Vara), this territory contains the toponym Ad taberna Frigida, a possible stopping place along the consular road of the Aemilia Scauri (which led from Pisa to Luni), near the banks of the river Frigido. While the history of Carrara is closely linked to the quarrying and working of marble, the history of Massa boasts po-

cance. In the Middle Ages, it was property of the Obertenghi family. The Malaspina family had a fortress built in the town that became increasingly powerful over the centuries, so much so that in the 15th century the marquisate became an autonomous state with the annexation of the Principality of Carrara to the Duchy of Massa. The period of greatest development was during the Renaissance, under the regency of the Cybo-Malaspina. During the 18th century, Massa, with all its appurtenances, was incorporated in the Duchy of Modena and Reggio. The construction of the cyclopic Via Vandelli, the great mountain road aimed at connecting the most important centres in Emilia to the sea, dates back to that period. Under Napoleon, the Apuan territory was annexed to the Principality of Lucca, but following the Congress of Vienna everything fell under the dominion of Maria Beatrice d’Este (1750-1829). In 1823, the diocese was founded at the request of Leo XII. In 1829, the town fell under the dominion of

the Duchy of Massa was merged with the Kingdom of Sardinia, but in this case the complicated, as a large part of the population joined resistance movements that have even been described as “Apuan Antiri-

Sections details

sorgimento”. Later on, the Germans showed to possess a good knowledge of the Italian history when they established the sadly famous Gothic Line on the ancient route of the Byzantine Limes in order to face the advance of the American army from the south. While the command-in-chief on the Tyrrhenian front was established at the Monastery of Corvo (->Ameglia), the Germans sappers prepared their front in the great plain of Massa. When the two armies came into contact, all hell broke loose and lasted from September 1944 to April 10th 1945, the day on which the American armoured troops arrived in Massa, which had by now been liberated. As well as being towns of historical importance, Carrara and Massa have also an artistic and cultural legacy. Everyone knows about Michelangelo and Canovara, but a few people know that the great Giovanni Pascoli (1855-1912) taught in Massa from 1884 to 1887. In these three years the poet witnessed a distinguished scholar such as (1869-1929), great commentator of the crucial “Storia della Lunigiana Feudale” (“History of Feudal Lunigiana”) by Eugenio Branchi, reach full maturity. During this period, he also had the opportunity to be close to one of his greatest friends from university, poet Severino Ferrari (1856-1905), who, at that time, was active in La Spezia. Prior to being assigned a teaching position at “Pellegrino Rossi” High School, Pascoli was living in the distant Matera: his stay in Massa allowed him to reconstruct the famous “nest” with his beloved sisters and it also reinvigo-

birthplace of scholar Emanuele Repetti (1776- 1852), author of the monumental Di-

(Geographical, Physical and Historical Dictionary of Tuscany) and of the exponents of the Fabbricotti family (->Sarzana), great marble industrialists who lived in the aforementioned Monastery of Corvo.

THE BAS-RELIEF OF THE GODS

The precious sculpture known as I Fantiscritti is an extraordinary bas-relief from of Jupiter, Bacchus and Hercules inscri-

Cyiriacus of Ancona in 1442, who saw it in the mining area (where the ancient Roman quarry is also located) that has been called with that name since then.

The name of the sculpture has a popular origin: the quarrymen simply described the image as the “fanti” “written”

sculpted. The precious monument is now preserved in the prestigious Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara

Some imaginative scholars wanted the place of the discovery to coincide with the Inf XX 46-51), but this is a contamination which Dante himself contributed to: before the mythologisation of the Divine Comedy, there is no sign of any popular or acade-

dwelling was located on the Apuan Alps. The Supreme Poet simply could not ac-

cept the idea suggested by his beloved Lucan, in whose Pharsalia a soothsayer lives in «Arruns incoluit desertae moenia Lunae»). In this regard, it cannot be excluded that at the dawn of the 14th century Dante himself may have seen the bas-relief (which had probably always been popular among the quarrymen) and that he -

ple of classical art for his highly original episode of the Etruscan haruspex in Inf XX. Over the centuries, the niche has drawn the curiosity of many artists, including two of the greatest artists of all time: Michelangelo (who went to the quarries several times to personally choose the blocks of ore for his immortal creations) and Canova. The Fantiscritti is truly the Bas-relief of the Gods.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MANUGUERRA MIRCO, ‘Orma di Dante non si cancella’ - I Luoghi Danteschi della Lunigiana, in *Le Sette Meraviglie della Lunigiana, a c. di A. Baldini, Lucca, Pacini Fazzi, 2016, pp. 229-260.

MIRCO MANUGUERRA, Lunigiana Dantesca“Orma di Dante non si cancella”, La Spezia, ItaliaperVoi, 2021.

ARM IN ARM WITH THE ‘DANTE’ OF SANTA CROCE

The beautiful statue of Maria Beatrice D’Este, which, together with its fountain, dominates Piazza Alberica in Carrara, is informally called “la Bea” by the true townspeople. It really is the landmark of the historic centre of the world marble capital and one of the most popular gathering points.

The competition announced in 1822 by the Academy of Vienna for the creation of the statue, presided over by Maria Beatrice herself, was won by Pietro Fontana (Carrara,

La fontana della Beatrice

1782-1857). The work was completed by the artist in 1824, but the entire marble ensemble (with the large base, the statue of the guarding lion and the fountain basin) was inaugurated two years later, in 1826.

The sculpture is the representation of the Duchess of Massa and Princess of Carrara from a Hellenistic perspective. Fontana depicted the last sovereign of the two cities as a Junoesque

of the writer of the present text, that there is an extremely interesting parallelism between this Beatrice and the Dante of Santa Croce in Florence, created by Enrico Pazzi in 1865: both statues are accompanied by the lion at the base of the monument and the eagle at their feet. The eagle is the most interesting element, because while the eagle in Beatrice is turning its head and looking in the distance, the eagle in Dante is looking at the Titan from below as if waiting for a signal from him. The eagle is certainly a symbol of Justice, and

and the Supreme Poet (although their destiny are popular symbols ofes. The eagle is also the undeniable allegory of the Empire in its highest sense. This idea is made extremely clear in the statue of Dante; as for the statue of Bea, the artist eagle was meant to be a reference to the Rome of the ancient times. What we are seeing here in Carrara is probably the primary source of inspiration for the monument in Florence: two absolute masterpieces.

UNDER THE PROTECTION OF THE GOOD POPE

Pian della Fioba is in the heart of the Regional Park of the Apuan Alps, 900 m.

“Pellegrini-Ansaldi” Botanical Garden

“Città di Massa” Lodge, from where important hiking trails depart. On the road that leads to these places, but only 5 km from Massa, in Campareccia, there is a panoramic squaenormous marble basins. In 1973, thanks

to the idea of Professor Giovanni Bertilorenzi and to the intervention of the Province of Massa Carrara, this exact same site was chosen to house the large marble statue of Saint Pope John XXIII, born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli (1881-1963). The work was sculpted by master Riccardo Rossi (1911-1983), who had already created the Monumento al Libraio di Montereggio (“Monument to the Bookseller in Montereggio”) (->Mulazzo) and the Pinocchio in Pontremoli.

The presence of the “Good Pope” is aimed at protecting all the hikers in the Apuan Alps Natural Park and all those who work in the marble quarries.

OTHER MASTERPIECES IN BRIEF

Il Trittico marmoreo di Domenico Gar

The marble Triptych of Trebiano,

Discovolo’s Deposition in Bonassola, The epigrafh of the Battle of Meloria in Moneglia

THE TRIUMPH OF THE ARCHANGEL

This small typical medieval village in Luni-

stretch of the Magra and, according to the legend, its castle even houses the autograph of the Divine Comedy. The parish church, consecrated to Saint Michael the Archangel, is home to a treasure of inestimable artistic value: the Trittico marmoreo (“marble Triptych”) by Domenico Gar (1529).

Domenico Gar, known as “il Francesino” (Haute Marne, ? - 1529), was mainly active in Lunigiana, where he came with his father at a very young age. We know that in 1520 he worked in Carrara in the workshop of Spanish sculptor Bartolomé Ordóñez. The following year, after the death of his master, he went to Spain for a short period, during which he had the great opportunity to work in the Granada Cathedral to decorate the tombs of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile. He died very young and his last completed work was the bas-relief of the ->Volto Santo (“Holy Face”) which is kept in the parish church of Montemarcello (->Ameglia). The Triptych, which was completed in the masterpiece. It is so beautiful that it has been called the Icona pulchra, meaningcludes the Virgin Mary with the Child in

the centre and, at her side, two saints, a man and a woman, representing earthly Justice and heavenly Justice respectively. St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153), the great saint who interceded with the Virgin Mary at the end of the Divine Comedy and the abbot who outlined the Rule of the Templars in real life, is humiliating Satan, who is lying at his feet, in a church consecrated to the leader of the angelic militia at the service of God: a word to the wise. Saint Catherine of Alexandria (287-305), who was martyred at the hands of Maxentius, is here depicted in a supreme act of revenge: she is subjugating the Roman emperor as in the scene with Count Ugolino and Archbishop Ruggeri (Inf XXXIII), only this time the setting is a heavenly place. Why did the artist choose to place this saint next to Bernard? Because she was the saint who, together with Michael the Archangel, inspired

that the French artist Gar certainly knew very well. We are therefore looking at an Allegory of the Triumph of Michael the Archangel. In this hermetic representation, the central position of the Virgin and the Child is the absolute symbol of Universal Justice. This work of art, which carries an enormous artistic, theological and even philosophical Mascardi Chapel by Jacopo, a member of one of the most important families in Sarzana in the 16th and 17th centuries.

OUR LADY OF SORROWS IN BONASSOLA

Antonio Discovolo (1874-1956) was born in Bologna, but in 1902 he started working in Tellaro, where he was impressed by the beauty of the landscape. This is not surprising: the same thing would soon happen to D.H. Lawrence and to Mario Soldati. The following year, having been invited by an English friend who was a painter, Discovolo moved to Manarola in the Cinque Terre, where he met the young woman he then married. When the family moved to Bonassola in 1910, in the overwhelming, intoxicating and irresistible charm of that extreme part of the Levante Riviera, the artist met the young Ettore Cozzani (1884-1971), and that was the beginning of their everlasting friendship. Cozzani himself, who at that time was working on the great cantos of the Poema del Mare (“Poem of the Sea”), recounted how the painter and close friend taught him to recognize the colours of the waves, including the colour purple. Cozzani then moved to

large publishing house, and Discovolo moved to Assisi, where he carried out fruitful work. The painter only returned to Bonassola in the 1950s, and

once again the village opened its heart to him. The family of the painter, a master of nocturnal scenes, donated his greatest masterpiece to the community: “La croce” (“The cross”), a work from 1923. It is a classic scene of Our Lady of Sorrows

that would have appealed to Caravaggio.

THE EPIGRAPH OF THE ENDEAVOUR OF PORTO PISANO

Since 1931, on the external right wall of the church of S. Croce in Moneglia, there has been a splendid inscription in Gothic characters dated 1290 and embellished with a bas-relief of two knights. The inscription on the marble monument is still clearly legible: In nomine D(omi)ni / am(en) MCCLXXXX / oc cadena / tuleru(n)t / de portu -

mi)no Tra(n)cheus / Sta(n)co de Mo/nelia. The faltering use of the Latin language is due to the fact that it was written during the period of transition to the vernacular language. What is clear, however, is that it refers to a chain coming from the port of Pisa.

The knight in the foreground is clearly St. George slaying the dragon at his feet, symbol of the Genoese power, while in all probability the second knight is Corrado Doria, the captain of the people who in 1290 led the attack by sea against Porto Pisano as a consequence of the fact that the Tuscan maritime republic had immorally disregarded the peace of 1288, which had followed the Battle of Meloria of 1284. At

Come il sole all’improvviso, a 400 mt dal mare, P.3° senza asc., living, 2 camere, bagno e balcone.

Come il sole all’improvviso, 400 mt from the sea, on 3rd floor without lift, living room, 2 bedrooms, bathroom.

La casa dei Marinai, appartamento in centro, sito al terzo piano senza ascensore.

La casa dei Marinaithout lift.

nella@immobiliarenella.it

Castello di Monleone, antica dimora Angeloni, dove sentirsi Re e Regine per alcuni giorni o periodi più lunghi. Raggiungibile sia a piedi percorrendo i caruggi di San Giorgio che in auto.

The Castle of Monleone, the ancient dwelling of the Angeloni family, makes you feel like a King or a Queen for a few days or longer periods. It can be reached either on foot through the wonderful carrugi of San Giorgio or by car.

La casa di Ilaria, una piccola realtà vista mare, in centro a Moneglia.

La casa di Ilaria, a small B&B with sea view, in the centre of Moneglia.

Un tramonto sul mare, situata a Lemeglio, a 1800 metri dal mare, in 40 mq tutti i comfort e vista mare. Un tramonto sul mare, located in Lemeglio, 1800 mt from the sea. A 40 sqm space with every comfort and sea view.

Paradise Valley, villetta indipendente a pochi km dal mare di Moneglia, con ampi spazi esterni. Paradise Valley, detached house a few km from the beautiful sea of Moneglia with large outdoor spaces.

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Da Carlo, a 600 metri dal mare, con posto auto e spazio esterno.

Da Carlo, 600 mt from the sea, with parking space and outdoor area.

Il paradiso all’improvviso, delizioso appartamento a 1.000 metri dal mare di Moneglia. Il paradiso all’improvviso, charMoneglia.

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MONEGLIA, Castello di Monleone (GE) Loc. Lemeglio (GE)

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Loc. Lemeglio (GE)

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their enemies had barred the access to the port with a chain. A blacksmith, Nounder the chain so as to make it white-hot and therefore break it with the weight of the ships. The technique worked and the port of Pisa was completely destroyed. The parts of the broken chain were taken to Genoa as war trophies and placed in various parts of the city. Only in the 19th

century almost all of them were returned to Pisa, where they are now kept in thetery”). As already mentioned, not all of them were returned to Pisa: some have remained in Genoa and one is here in Moneglia, hanging on the wall next to the Epigraph. Since Moneglia took part in the triumph of the Battle of Meloria, this is its share of immortal glory.

Lapide della Battaglia della Meloria a Moneglia

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