.svg/250px-Lunigiana_(1).svg.png)
Lunigiana is an area of the Tuscany, although in an extended sense it also includes part of the territory Ligurian.
To know
The Lunigiana (in Latin Lunensis Ager) is a historical region Italian, takes its name from the ancient Roman city of Luna (corresponding to today's Luni), located at the mouth of the Magra river, not far from where it stands today Sarzana: the influence of the city, which became the most important port of the Ligurian Sea, was such as to connote the entire surrounding territory with its name.
Geographical notes
The current Lunigiana is the territory corresponding to the hydrographic basin of the Magra river. There Historic Lunigiana instead corresponds to the possessions belonging to the administrative and / or ecclesiastical point of view to the ancient bishopric of Luni which controlled in their entirety the current provinces of Spice and of Mass-Carrara, the high Garfagnana until about Camporgiano and the Versilia up to Ponte Strada, at Pietrasanta in the current province of Lucca, as well as a tiny territory located in the municipality of Albareto, currently in the province of Parma.
Strictly speaking, it will be said that the Lunigiana borders with the Parma area, the Garfagnana (Forum Clodii), with the Val di Vara and the lower valley of the Magra. In a historical sense, it borders on the Parma and Genoese areas of Chiavari and borders on the Garfagnana and Versilia.
Background
The finds that allow us to document the oldest human settlements in Lunigiana are traced back to the Mousterian, a period that goes from 120,000 to 36,000 years ago. During this period, the territory is populated by Neanderthals. These settlements are documented in the Tecchia delle Grotte di Equi Terme and, again in the Apuan Alps, in the Grotta dell'Onda (Mount Matanna). The flora and fauna along the Lunigiana coastlines underwent significant changes since the sea, during the interglacial period, moved towards the hilly areas, invading the Magra and Vara valleys; this led Neanderthals to devote themselves to hunting for new species, decreeing a change in lifestyle. During the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic the populations abandoned the caves and settled along the coasts. With the deglaciation, the population is also distributed on the mountains, which have become the habitat of all the species that survived the great cold, such as chamois, ibex and deer.
During the Neolithic period, populations from the western Po Valley settled in Lunigiana, practicing agriculture and raising sheep, cattle and pigs, and were dedicated to hunting deer, wild boar and other wild animals. The finds that are traced back to this period come from Equi Terme and from the surrounding area Massaciuccoli lake. During the Iron Age, however, the area was inhabited by the Apuans (who lived not only the Lunigiana, but also the Garfagnana and the Versilia), belonging to the ancient Ligurians, who during the funeral rites, used to practice the practice of cremation, a typical habit of the people of the Terramare and other tribes developed during the previous Bronze Age. These peoples opposed the Roman occupation and were therefore deported en masse to Sannio, a region between Campania and the Basilicata.
The important Lunigiana road axis saw before the foundation of Lunae the great consular of the Via Aurelia stop at Pisa: only in the following imperial season would it have continued for the entire Ligurian arc retracing the route of the very ancient Via Erculea. In conjunction with the war against the Apuans, after the strengthening of the military stronghold of Pisa, the colony of Lucca which allowed the consolidation of the administrative-military base called Forum Clodii. With the mass deportation of about fifty thousand Apuans to Sannio in 180 BC. the entire territory between the colonies of Luni and Lucca was gradually repopulated by Roman or Romanized settlers. This colonization led to the reclamation of all the marshy areas in the area.
After the fall of the Roman Empire (476 AD) the concept of Historic Lunigiana which was subsequently occupied by several peoples. The complex historical evolution of the Magra valley and of the entire Lunigiana led to the establishment of numerous more or less independent political entities. The Valley during the nineteenth century was the subject of territorial exchanges between the Grand Duchy of Tuscany and the Duchy of Parma is that of Modena. During the Second World War the Lunigiana was crossed by the Gothic Line, the demarcation line of the front that separated the territories occupied by the Nazi-Fascists from those already liberated by the Allies and became, precisely because of its location, one of the most important areas of action of the formations partisans.
Spoken languages
The dialect spoken in Lunigiana has great similarities with the Emilian dialect in terms of the sounds and structure of the period, but also contaminations of the Tuscan vernacular and the Genoese dialect. In fact, the Lunigiana dialect presents considerable differences and nuances due to the particularity of its territory, which fits into the dialectal areas of Emilia, Liguria and Tuscany, although it has undergone minor influences of the latter.
The linguistic basin of Lunigiana can therefore be divided into:
- Upper Lunigiana - Pontremoli, Zeros, Filattiera, Mulazzo, Bagnone is Villafranca in Lunigiana with a dialect very similar to the Emilian.
- Average Lunigiana - Aulla, Fivizzano, Fosdinovo, etc., with a dialect of intersection between Emilian and Ligurian, from which he drew many terminologies.
Territories and tourist destinations
Urban centers
How to get
How to get around
What see
What to do
At the table
TO Pontremoli you can taste delicate crêpes called "testaroli"and made with water, flour and salt. On the Ligurian side they are consumed with pesto, while on the Tuscan side with extra virgin olive oil and pecorino cheese.
TO Podenzana is the "panigaccio", a type of round, unleavened bread, baked in a special earthenware and mica dish, called testo, red-heated over high heat in a bonfire or in a wood-burning oven. A batter of flour, water and salt stands between a text and the other, until they form a pile.The final consistency is crunchy.
