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History in the Village of Aulla, Massa Carrara

One of the most important centres of the religious and civic life of Lunigiana has lain, since the year One Thousand, in a narrow strip of land where the rivers Magra and Aulella converge.
At that time, Aulla was a small city, built to defend the bridges and roads leading into the region of Lucca, Liguria and to the Cisa Pass: there were the years of the fame and success of the Via Francigena as a route for trade and pilgrimage.

Abbazia di S. Caprasio – Saint Caprasio Abbey (9th – 12th century)
The Abbey was founded in the year 884 and entrusted to the monks who had ties with the Malaspina Family.
The period of greatest religious and economic influence was from the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century, when the abbey had plebeian functions for much of surrounding territory. Around 1070 the original building was modified to assume its current appearance with three naves.

It was refurbished in the fourteenth century and during the baroque period. Today it is a religious centre.

Fortezza della Brunella - Brunella Fortress (half 16th century)
The Fortress takes its name by the name of the hill where it has located since the half of the sixteenth century. It is a typical example of renaissance military architecture, conceived against fire attacks. The layout of the building is quadrangular with large angular hip rafters.
The Fortress takes place a renovation of the outside area and of the powder magazines. Today it is also the home of the Natural History Museum of Lunigiana, of an adventure playground and a rare pets cemetery.

OUTSIDE THE CENTRE
Bibola (7th century)
Just a few kilometres south of Aulla, in the Aulella valley, stands the hill of Bibola with the town and castle having the same name.
Its origins date back to Roman times, although, today, there are no traces of the Roman settlement. Later, Byzantine sources document the existence of a fortified site on the hill at the beginning of the seventh century, which was perhaps readapted in the eleventh and twelfth centuries when the Bishops of Luni contended the curia of Soliera, a traditional confrontation between the hegemony of the bishops and the Malaspina family.

Caprigliola (12th century)
The first mention of the castrum of Caprigliola dates back to the twelfth century, but the Bishops of Luni had previously fortified the place.
Of those ancient constructions, the elegant cylindrical tower still stands today, with all of its essential structures intact. In 1556 the Florentines built a fortified wall around the town.

This because, Caprigliola together with Albiano, the town on the opposite side of the river Magra, represents the natural point of access to the valley and the Apennine passes leading to the Po valley.

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