Sarzana

It is the unofficial capital of Lunigiana, an attractive historical region between Liguria – to which Sarzana belongs – and Tuscany, and is what is known as a reliable tourist destination, larger than a village and just a little smaller than a full-fledged town.

It is certainly worth a long exploratory stop, perhaps attracted by the motorway exit that bears its name along the A12 motorway between Genoa and Rome, a section of the E80 that connects Lisbon to the Turkish-Iranian border. The relations between nations and the breadth of views are not to be trifled with.

Sarzana is bustling with cultural initiatives, the present-day outcome of a border history testified to by the imposing elegance of the Fortezza Firmafede – but just outside it is the even more spectacular Fortezza di Sarzanello – as well as other bastions and the geometric grid of streets that outline the historic centre between Porta Parma and Porta Romana. Strolling around Piazza Matteotti, one comes across the noble palazzi of the Remedi, the Magni-Griffi, the Neri and the Picedi, and steps inside to admire the church of S. Maria Assunta, the Pieve di Sant'Andrea and the Oratorio of S. Bernardino, or to raise one's eyes to the frescoed ceiling of the Teatro degli Impavidi. The centuries-old crossroads of civilisations is also evidenced by the local confectionery, with pandolce from Liguria, buccellati from Lucca and spongata from Parma.