he Brunella Fortress dominates the strategic Aulla village from on high, located where the river Magra and Aulella meet.

Various theories surround when it was built and who it was built for, despite the fact the the building’s architecture is type for the age of transition.

One theory is that the fortress was constructed at the end of the 1400s for the lord of Aulla at that time Jacopo Ambrogio Malaspina, whereas the second hypothesis has it that it was founded by Giovanni delle Bande Nere, the condottiero who moved to Aulla in the early 16th century, who commissioned Antonio da Sangallo the Elder with the plans.

The fortress is now home to the Lunigiana Natural History Museum, which focuses on the history and changes in the local area.

https://www.visittuscany.com

Brunella Fortress

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Il castello di Monti è una fortezza di epoca medievale che si trova a Monti, frazione di Licciana Nardi, in provincia di Massa Carrara.

Il castello nacque probabilmente con funzione di sbarramento, in quanto sorge nel punto in cui si incrociavano la strada proveniente da Lucca e la strata Lizane che dall'Emilia proseguiva verso il fondo valle lunigianese.

Il castello ebbe, come tutto il borgo, una storia travagliata. La sua proprietà passò di mano diverse volte fino a che, nel 1638, la popolazione del borgo, stanca di questa situazione, decise autonomamente di porsi sotto la guida del Granducato di Toscana.
Posizione
Il castello di Monti è situato sulla sponda destra del torrente Taverone, su una collina ai piedi della quale sorgeva l'antico insediamento di Venelia con la sua Pieve di Santa Maria di Venelia.

Il castello e la Pieve hanno avuto origine nel luogo dove si incrociavano la strada proveniente da Lucca, attraverso il passo di Tea, e la "strata Lizane" che collegava i territori d'oltre Appennino alla media Val di Magra.

Funzione strategica
Il castello nasce, tra la fine dell'XI e l'inizio del XII secolo, come struttura militare degli Estensi i quali, vista la loro positiva situazione militare e politica nell'oltregiogo emiliano, miravano ad ottenere il controllo anche del versante lunigianese. Il castello infatti costituiva uno dei numerosi sbarramenti sulla strada che dall'Emilia giungeva al mare, ed anche su quella che dalla valle del Serchio, risalendo la Magra e, attraverso il passo del Brattello, rendeva possibile raggiungere i centri di Veleia (o Velleia) e Piacenza.

Castello di Monti

Il castello di Bastia è una fortificazione con caratteristiche architettoniche rinascimentali che si trova a Licciana Nardi, in provincia di Massa Carrara, nella zona della Lunigiana.
La fortezza, che per la possente struttura ebbe la fama di "castello inespugnabile", si erge su di una collina nella valle del fiume Teverone e risale al XIII secolo.
Il toponimo, dal francese Batir (costruire), è adoperato per indicare un'opera fortificata che veniva costruita rapidamente per rimediare a qualche cedimento nel sistema difensivo di un castello, di una cinta muraria, nella difesa di un borgo o di una città.
La storia
La Bastia fu compresa negli impegni che Francesco d'Olivola prese nei riguardi dei marchesi Malaspina di Villafranca nel 1294 e nel 1307.
Nel 1416 venne occupata dai genovesi per vendicare l'omicidio del provicario genovese della Spezia Oderico Biassa per mano dei marchesi di Villafranca per poi ritornare in possesso di questi ultimi nel 1423.
Durante la guerra dal 1424 al 1428 fra il comune di Firenze e il duca di Milano Filippo Maria Visconti fu presidiata dai fiorentini con l'intento di bloccare probabili infiltrazioni in Lunigiana delle truppe milanesi attraverso gli appennini.

Nel Cinquecento Bastia rientrò nella formazione del marchesato di Monti sotto Giovanni Spinetta. È probabile che questo avvenimento e soprattutto la diffusione delle armi da fuoco siano stati la causa di quei rinnovamenti strutturali che poco dopo diedero a Bastia la fama di "castello inespugnabile". Alla morte di Spinetta nel 1535 la Bastia fu divisa tra i suoi figli e divenne feudo indipendente con Fioramonte II, la cui dinastia continuò fino al 1783. Questi secoli di governo furono caratterizzati da brutte vicende dovute a lotte di successione, soprusi dei marchesi e ribellioni. In particolare nella prima metà del XVII secolo il fratello del marchese Carlo, Nestore, compì numerosi crimini causando una sollevazione popolare tanto che intervenne il Granduca di Toscana per ristabilire l'ordine. Le sommosse e gli omicidi però continuarono fino all'uccisione di Nestore da parte dei ribelli.

Oltre alle tormentate vicende interne, che hanno accompagnato il succedersi della dinastia di Bastia, occorre ricordare un aneddoto dell'ultima marchesa Annetta Malaspina sposata al marchese di Mulazzo Giovanni Malaspina. Questa donna era dotata di una invidiabile bellezza tanto da essere celebrata da poeti come Vincenzo Monti ed Innocenzo Frugoni e al centro delle attenzioni della corte di Parma. Dietro la spinta del gesuita parmense Bettinelli tentò un'azione diplomatica a favore dei gesuiti francesi e fu mandata alla corte di Francia per conquistare l'amore di Luigi XV e soppiantare la marchesa di Pompadour. Considerato il fascino ma anche la fama di donna di talento la "conquista" doveva essere cosa facile ma per motivi non del tutto chiari il tentativo fallì e la marchesa tornò in patria solo con un modesta pensione della corte francese.

La struttura oggi
Licciana Nardi-castello della bastia6.jpg
Oggi il castello è posseduto da privati ed è ancora perfettamente conservato. Ha pianta trapezoidale con quattro torri angolari cilindriche unite da una cortina muraria con cammino di ronda ricollegabili a una costruzione postmedievale. Risulta difficile invece riconoscere con esattezza l'epoca del mastio centrale all'interno delle mura che, in seguito a una ristrutturazione, ha perso i tratti probabilmente medievali.

Castello di Bastia

This Castle of medieval origins is one of the best preserved in Lunigiana and it played an important role in a feud belonging to the Malaspina family from the fourteenth to the eighteenth century. The construction of the massive fortress merges with the underlying sandstone rock so that the whole structure seems carved out of the earth.
 
Built for defense, in 1340 the castle was officially ceded by the Noble family of Fosdinovo to the warlord Spinetta Malaspina who created the Marquisate of Fosdinovo and lived in the castle for the rest of his life.

In the sixteenth century, Gabriele and then Lorenzo Malaspina added the Renaissance courtyard while in the seventeenth century, under Jacopo Malaspina, the castle was enlarged. The basic design of the Castle of Fosdinovo consists of a square with four round towers, a semicircular rampart, two internal courtyards, a central courtyard, patrol trenches above the roof, hanging gardens, galleries and an ancient defensive wall. Once protected by a drawbridge, the main gateway enters into a thirteenth century Romanesque style courtyard, which is framed by marble columns supporting overhead arcades. From this small courtyard, where guns were once kept at the ready to defend the castle, a broad flight of stairs rises leading to a large central courtyard.
The courtyard boasts an elegant Renaissance porch with stone columns, a well and a beautiful sixteenth-century marble portal leading to interior rooms of the castle, decorated and painted before 1800. Next is the entrance hall, the dining room with a large fireplace and seventeenth century ceramics, the throne room, the great hall and the room of ‘trabocchetto’ (the trap-door room) with a torture room lying below. It is said that the evil marchioness Cristina Pallavicini, used to kill her lovers by surprising them with a trap door located at the foot of the bed, dropping them into the dungeon or torture room. Trapdoors such as this were common in the castle. There were three of these traps, two in the veranda close to the garden and one in a corner-tower. Underneath them there were sharp knives with the blades pointing upwards, so sharp that when someone fell through a trapdoor they were dropped immediately to their death. In addition to these terrible instruments of torture and death, there was another even more terrible. It was a kind of iron arm that jutted from the wall of the tower with a pulley and a ring connected by a rope. The victim was tortured and then left to hang before the whole town until they were dead.

The oldest east tower, is known as the "Dante chamber” where, according to tradition, the great poet slept when he was a guest at the castle during his period of exile. The frescoes in the grand central hall depict the solid friendship between Dante and the Malaspina family.
 
The visit around the Castle continues upstairs among countless other furnished rooms and along the exterior walkway above the roof which offers a stunning panoramic view.

https://www.visittuscany.com

Malaspina Castle

The Borgo Castello di Castiglione or the castle town of Castiglione is located one km away from the town of Palombara Sabina. The castle is quite magnificent and is known to be one of the best examples of medieval structure. The building of the castle itself dates back to the later half of the 13th century and stands dominating the entire territory due to its location at a high altitude. The construction of the castle was probably done at a single time. The castle is spread over an area of 1200 square meters. The castle is located on top of a hill at a height of 750 meters close to the Monte Lucretti Park in the Rome province.

 

History of the Castle
The castle had been built in the later half of the 13th century thought the exact year of construction is not known. The first time that the castle had been mentioned in a document had been in the year 1276. In the year 1276, the castle had been sold to the family of Renaud Palombara and the castle then had been passed on to the Savelli family when it had been sold to James Savelli. The castle of Castiglione remained with the Savelli family until the mid 14th century.

Pope Honorius IV and his Savelli family, kept the castle until the end of the 14th century. There had been a document dating back to the year 1427 which mentioned that the castle along with several other monuments and castles in the Monte Lucretti area had been abandoned due to an epidemic. While others believe that the castle itself had been badly damaged due to earthquakes.
The castle itself had been built in pure medieval style. The San Martino hermitage was located close to the castle which dated back to the year 1000. The hermitage had existed till around the 17th century when it had been completely destroyed. The castle is spread over an area of 1200 square meters and includes double circular walls which are still quite well preserved. The walls are still buried but can be partly seen.

A Roman cistern and a church had been built inside the castle using the remains of an older Roman castle which had been built earlier in the area. Because of the Roman cistern it is believed that the area might have been inhabited since the Roman times. There had been a series of terraces which had been built in the area for making the slopes of the hills cultivable and had been used till recent times.
https://www.lifeinitaly.com

 The castle town of Castiglione

Madrignano castle is on the Apennine ridge between Liguria and Tuscany, on the mountains that surround Val di Vara, in the Municipality of Calice al Cornoviglio.
It is extraordinary historical evidence of events from the Middle Ages in this part of Liguria, and is part of the large and complex system of historical elements that characterize the territory of La Spezia:  castles, towers, defensive systems and buildings that outline the contour of Spezia province, from Lerici to Sarzana, from Madrignano to the even more ancient structures of Zignago.

The historical traces in this area are not limited to those magnificent ones from the Middle Ages: there are many signs of the ancient Ligurian people, in fact more than in any other place in the region, those people who populated these lands, especially the hinterland, before the arrival of the Roman troops.

Val di Vara in particular, in contrast with the magnificence of the remains of the Roman coastal colony of Luni, is the place where the living areas of the Ligurian population are still preserved. It is the ancient “popolo del Cigno” (Swan People), who left an important trace with the necropolis of Genicciola, proof not only of the sepulchral uses, but also of the everyday life of these people from ancient Liguria. 

http://www.liguriaheritage.it

Madrignano castle

The Museums of Castello Doria Malaspina houses inside the following museums: Museum of the Brigade "Vara Valley", Museum of Faunal Resources, Gallery "David Beghè" Small Peter Rose Museum, Museum of Peasant Tradition and Beekeeping Museum. Also in the Little Peter Rose Museum it will be able to appreciate the Stele Statue of Borseda. On the main floor will appreciate the beauty of the Show Recommend in with the big wrought iron chandelier and fireplace. The Hall is used for events, exhibitions, conferences and for the celebration of weddings.

https://www.itinari.com/

 Castello Doria Malaspina

Malgrate Castle is situated in Villafranca in Lunigiana and its striking round tower has presided over the valley of the River Bagnone for centuries.

The fort, which controlled the most important communication routes from the Apennines, Cisa and Garfagnana, was built in the 14th century (but it probably has older origins) and the Malaspina marquises’ banner waved on its tower, 25 metres tall and topped with a lookout point, until the 17th century.

As well as serving a defensive function, the castle became a noble residence in 1641, when the central part was turned into a palace including the round tower.

However, the appearance of Malgrate is that of a classic medieval fortress: the main part consists of the keep, located on the short side of the feudal palace in a rectangular shape and surrounded by walls, with Guelph battlements, embankments and a walkway which probably dates back to the 14th century.

https://docs.google.com

Malgrate Castle

Il castello di Trebiano è stato un edificio difensivo e residenza vescovile-signorile in epoca feudale del borgo medievale di Trebiano, odierna frazione di Arcola, in val di Magra nella provincia della Spezia.
Il castello è costruito sul colle sovrastante il borgo medievale di Trebiano, a cavallo tra la bassa val di Magra e il mare, a controllo degli importanti scali marittimi commerciali di Lerici, utilizzato per lo più dalla Repubblica di Genova e la Francia, e di San Genesio verso La Spezia per gli scambi con la Toscana.

Secondo le fonti storiche il castello potrebbe risalire ad un periodo poco inferiore o coevo al X secolo, data la sua certa citazione nel 963 in un diploma dell'imperatore Ottone I di Sassonia. Inizialmente fu utilizzato dalla diocesi di Luni, proprietaria delle terre feudali tra Liguria e Lunigiana, come residenza vescovile e che tuttavia mantenne dopo il passaggio del borgo, nel 1039, ai primi Signori di Trebiano, questi ultimi vicini alla diocesi lunense.

Di forma quadrata, o meglio a pianta sub-pentagonale, presenta quattro grandi torri ai lati inglobate nella cortina che raggiunge l'altezza massima di 20 metri. Non presenta finestre, ma lunghe e strette feritoie.

Castello di Trebiano

The view from Castelnuovo Magra is earned after having travelled the 4 km upwards along the road that leads to its historical centre from Aurelia. The town lengthens along the ridge and even from a distance you can clearly see its important points: the Church of Santa Maria Maddalena and the Bishops’ Palace. By just walking along the streets it becomes clear that the village is antique. The presence of small winding alleys, portals and the view of the castle declare origins dating back to Medieval times. The mansions on Via Dante, the main road, have been retouched however, probably between the 17th and 18th centuries and Piazza Querciola, the square where the road merges, is of the same period.

We are in the highest part of the town, this area was once called Borghetto, therefore if we were in the position of having to choose a point in Castelnuovo to build a fortified outpost, I don’t think there would be any doubts about building it in this square, where once Bishop Gualtiero II positioned an initial defensive outpost, probably when the town was being built. The view from here includes an extremely vast area, you can see Sarzana, Sarzanello castle, the antique site of Luni, and obviously the Magra, from which the whole area takes its name. 

Castelnuovo arose in the period from 1187 to 1203, together with the conflict between the Luni bishops and Malaspina, who fought for power in Lunigiana. It was certainly not a simple period, with plundering and devastation; this was one of the reasons why bishop Gualtiero wanted a new castle to be built in the section of land between Fosdinovo and Carrara in order to control the viability and keep it safe. The castle, initially named “of Santa Maria”, represented the focal point around which the most ancient living area of Castelnuovo developed.

The 13th century was extremely complex for this region, the anxiety between the Bishop and the nearby villages became bitter: Sarzana proposed itself as the symbol of this restlessness, demanding release from the Bishop’s reins. Castelnuovo joined forces with Sarzana, but was then obliged to reach compromises because the Episcopate, which always seemed to be on the point of crumbling under the weight of the continuous fighting, continued recovering, often because of some skilled and politically active people who every now and then were able to give renewed energy. This was the case of Bishop Guglielmo who, in 1230, managed to invigorate his power and get Castelnuovo back on his side, which in compensation obtained reinforcement with surrounding walls.

In the meantime the Luni Episcopate fell into the hands of Enrico da Fucecchio, the last person who truly tried in every manner to restore the Luni comital power. This extremely interesting personality decided to build a second episcopal mansion in Castelnuovo, the palacium with the turrim magnam mentioned in documents, and also to purchase an impressive quantity of property. Following the stipulation of peace for Castelnuovo, nestled inside the walls of the new episcopal mansion, the conflict between bishops and Malaspinas formally ended, but factually it was also the end of the bishop’s supremacy in Lunigiana.

Walk through the village alleys, the shape of which state their Medieval origin. At the end of the main road you probably didn’t expect to see a square as big as this one, slightly higher, and in which the sheer size of the bishop’s castle grabs your attention. Listen to the audioguide 1 and discover when and why this building was constructed!

Castello di Castelnuovo Magra


Verrucole Castle (Italian: Fortezza delle Verrucole) is a Medieval fortress located in the Garfagnana region of Tuscany, in San Romano in Garfagnana comune, near the city of Lucca. It is 600 metres above sea level.

The fortress has recently undergone partial restoration. The territory of the fortress has been restored to give an understanding of the Medieval way of life. The keep has undergone more considerable reconstruction with exhibits on different aspects of Medieval life, including food, medicine, and warfare.