Overview
Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club
A ribbon of houses winds along the Apennine ridge of Fosdinovo, up to the massive Malaspina Castle with its origins in the 12th century. Between high walls and towers, the fortress offers to be visited rooms decorated with frescoes and a room dedicated to remembering Dante Alighieri, who is said to have been a peacemaker between local contrasts during his exile from Florence. An itinerary guided by explanatory panels - almost an open-air museum, starting from the car park - begins at the castle, helping to familiarise visitors with the village. The main street, which probably corresponds to a section of the route of the medieval Via Francigena, touches the buildings of the Theatre and the Mint, the Oratories of the Whites and the Reds, and the church of San Remigio with the late 14th-century tomb of Galeotto Malaspina. We pass through Piazza Matteotti, Piazza Garibaldi and Piazza Cairoli, arriving with panoramic views at the Porta di Sotto, then the Fosso, which was a historic market place, and finally the Torretta. A few kilometres along Provincial Road 9 can take you to the Audiovisual Museum of the Resistance, with large multimedia panels of homeland memory. In terms of food and wine, the village also has its attractions: Vermentino, Evo oil, Lunigiana PDO honey and even Pomo Rodelo, a local apple variety; there is no shortage of cheeses.
