Fosdinovo

Fosdinovo is an ancient village located in the historic region of Lunigiana, in Tuscany.
Inhabited since prehistoric times, Fosdinovo was the capital of an independent marquisate governed by the most important branch of the Malaspina dello Spino Fiorito family, whose marquises were imperial vicars in Italy.
In ancient times the town was the protagonist of the clashes between the Malaspina and the bishops of Luni, but from 1340, Spinetta Malaspina became the sole owner of the feud, beginning an era of relative splendor and tranquility until 1800.
The undisputed symbol of the village is the Malaspina Castle, located at the top of the mountain and the inhabited area, establishing itself as one of the most beautiful and best preserved Lunigiana fortresses.

Going to discover the village it is possible to see: the Parish Church of San Remigio, originally wanted by the bishops of Luni; the Oratory of the Compagnia dei Bianchi, whose white marble facade dates back to the second half of the 1600s.

Fosdinovo is located in an area marked by the battles of the Second World War and terrible massacres of civilians.
These events are remembered in the Audiovisual Museum of the Resistance, with an exhibition that focuses on "memory", consisting of documents such as interviews, archive images and recordings, presented through multimedia supports that establish an interactive relationship with the visitor.

Locally they produce an excellent white wine, Vermentino fosdinovese or the Colli di Luni Bianco DOC and the Vino Bianco IGT Toscana. Among the red wines, instead, you can find the Sangiovese, Malvasia Nera, Ciliegiolo, Cannaiolo, Colli di Luni Ross DOC, Vino Rosso IGT Toscana and the "Merla" (a biotype of Cannaiolo with a small dose of Colorino).

Among the typical dishes of the fosdinovese tradition we recall the Testarolo (fosdinovese variant), the castagnaccio and the pattone. The testaroli ("testaròi" in fosdinovese dialect) made in Fosdinovo differ from the lunigianesi ones for smaller size, different preparation and because they are not cut, seasoned and served in a dish, but they are filled with olive oil, pesto, grated pecorino cheese, mushroom sauce, salami, stracchino cheese or other things (also sweet food like hazelnut spread), rolled up and eaten like a sandwich. There is a feast dedicated to the testarolo on the fourth weekend of July in Fosdinovo. The castagnacci, instead ("castignà" in fosdinovese dialect), are one of the many typically fosdinovesi dishes where they use chestnut flour, scented with rosemary or blended with pine nuts and orange peel. You can try them for example at the Chestnut Festival that is held on the third Sunday of October. Finally, the pattone are dishes prepared with chestnut flour and water, cooked on chestnut leaves and served rolled up with ricotta cheese and/or hazelnut spread.

BY CAR

• From the North: Take the A1 highway, follow the direction La Spezia - Parma Ovest, continue on the A15 Cisa highway, follow the Livorno direction, continue on the A12 highway, exit at Sarzana, cross Sarzana, Paghezzana, take the SS 446 towards Fosdinovo.
• From the South: Take the A1 highway in the direction of Florence, follow the Livorno direction, continue on the A11 highway, in Viareggio follow the direction for Genoa, continue on the A12 highway, exit at Sarzana, cross Sarzana, Paghezzana, take the SS 446 towards Fosdinovo.

ON THE TRAIN

• Sarzana railway station

BY PLANE

• Pisa airport
• Genoa airport
• Florence airport

Fosdinovo, the only hamlet certified by the province of Massa Carrara, from the Middle Ages to the XVIII century was the small capital of an independent marquisate reigned by the noble family Malaspina that settled here at the beginning of 1300. All of this to say that here, as everywhere else in Lunigiana, you can breathe history, as the high walkway between the Ghibelline battlements of the castle allows you to enjoy this great location on the Val di Magra, where the village rises. Residence and political centre of the family, the Castle of Malaspina is the symbol and main attraction of Fosdinovo. The historical commemoration that takes place in July is not a usual reenactment of the Middle Ages, but a way to feel the stone's breathing, which lasts from seven hundred years, and actually more because the Malaspina restored and enlarged a castle which was already a couple of centuries old. In one of its rooms Dante Alighieri seemed to have found hospitality. Coming in places like this is a need. It is the desire to escape from the short time of appointments, of immediate deadlines, of the daily news, and enter into a long time, linked to the memory of those who lived here, in these houses, under these beams, between these walls. Here he is, Galeotto Malaspina, the lord of Fosdinovo: in his sepulchral monument of 1367, in the parish church dedicated to Saint Remigius, a French saint whose cult spread in Italy through the Via Francigena. Here is the building in which there was the old Mint. And there, the Malaspina Theatre with its inlaid wood boxes on which the dust of time lays down.

Discover the other villages on the guide Tuscany - Unique villages to love

• eBookFest. Event dedicated to digital publishing.

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• Moving Castle. Cultural event.