Fosdinovo dominates still today with its intact III century size, from the high of its 550 meters of altitude, great part of below, distant the Tirrenic coast a ten of kilometers, and the val of Lean that is opened to its shoulders. The position was ideal in order to control the Appennine outlet to the sea of the Lunigiana and its roads and the pass, between the most attended of the Middle Ages.

From the 1124 news of the castle of Fosdinovo like sub-feud is had of the Bishops of Luni controlled from the noble ones of Erberia; such situation lasted until the end of the XIII° century when the overbearing rise of marquises Malaspina carried to the sunset of the episcopal power on these lands.

At the beginning of the 1300 the Spinetta Malaspina, by now getlteman of the entire Lunigiana, thanks to the straits ties of the family with the Ghibelline cause that give the support of the Scaligeri and Enrico WAYS, transferred the marchesale center from close castle of the Verrucola di Fivizzano just to Fosdinovo.

Little after Castruccio Castracani, getlteman of Lucca, besieged the castle with 6000 makes and 1000 knights momentarily embezzling it the Malaspina. With the decline of the fortunes of the Fosdinovo great army leader he returned definitively in hand to the Malspina in 1334. Later on the castle was magnified and reinforced.

The primitive castle of the XII° century was widened and with turrets and cylindrical towers actions to the shooting defensive of propping and battlement to tail of rondine with apparatus to stick out in the forehead turned towards the Lunigiana the flank skirted from the road. Other powerful towers and bastions were added on the turned inner forehead to the country subsequently and, also maintaining externally the strict shapes, the inside of the castle divenne one of the most refined high-class dwellings of the military form, with it knows frescoed them and other refinements.

The courtyard ulterior is added a rinascimental one, with to some troniere for guns several embrasures for smaller crews from fire placed along curtains building. Over the main income, defended from a bartizan in masonry, still a dog with in bloomed mouth the spino is carved, to memory of the straits ties between the Malaspina and the Scaligeri. The castle was very soon considered ' indistruttibile' and in confirmation of this the earthquake of 1922 did not succeed in provocargli serious damages.Il primitive castle of the XII° century was widened and with turrets and cylindrical towers actions to the shooting defensive of skirted and merlature to tail of rondine with apparatus to jet out in the forehead turned towards the Lunigiana the flank skirted from the road. Other powerful towers and bastions were added on the turned inner forehead to the country subsequently and, also maintaining externally the strict shapes, the inside of the castle divenne one of the most refined high-class dwellings of the military form, with it knows frescoed them and other refinements.

The courtyard ulterior is added a rinascimental one, with to some troniere for guns several embrasures for smaller crews from fire placed along curtains building. Over the main income, defended from a bartizan in masonry, still a dog with in bloomed mouth the spino is carved, to memory of the straits ties between the Malaspina and the Scaligeri. The castle was very soon considered 'indestructible' and in confirmation of this the earthquake of 1922 did not succeed to make serious damages.

The legend wants that also in this castle Dante Alighieri has stay, of fact the event is historically impossible. An other legend is tied to the presence in one of the rooms of the castle of the ' sink of the dimenticanza': one tells that marchesa the Cristina Adelaide Pallavicino, spouse of Ippolito Malaspina, attracted to the own lovers in one room and once satisfied its facese instincts to throw down them in the pitfall with a lot of blades that flows then in a near channel. More real the pitfall it came used, but in order to eliminate the political enemies of the powerful getlteman! Still today the castle is property of marquises Torrigiani-Malaspina, recently it has endured an important restoration work and is visitabile to payment on appointment.

The Castle of Fosdinovo dominates omonimo the country situated to the outlet of the Val di Magra towards the sea, is caught up covering the motorways A12 Genoa-Livorno until the escape of Carrara, from feeds the way Aurelia in Sarzana direction here until the crossroad with the SS446 that leads to us under walls them of the Castle.

MORE INFO FOR VISIT:
Phone: 0187/680013-68891
WEB: www.castellodifosdinovo.it