Montignoso in Massa Carrara, Tuscany
Montignoso, with its castle, lied under the jurisdiction of Lucca until 1845, then it became a dominion of the Estensi Family, and finally, it was unified to the Province of Massa Carrara after that Italy became a Kingdom.
Castello Aghinolfi
It dominates all the landscape. It has been contended for century by the military forces of Pisa, Genoa and Lucca. Probably, the ancient building can be dated back to the Byzantine period, and it represents a real defence fortress. Today, it is subject of studies about the life during the different ages: of the old structure remains a large building with an octagonal base, recently restored, and very different from the other Castles in Lunigiana.
Villa Shift Giorgini (18th -19th century)
A splendid nineteenth-century residence, and the current seat of the Municipal Authorities where numerous cultural events are held. The villa, surrounded by a wonderful park, houses many marble sculptures.
Chiesa di S. Eustachio (15th century)
Damaged by bombino during the Second World War, the building has recently been renovated. The Church bears the date 1840 on the portal, but actually dates back to 1495. Inside you will find two paintings of the fifteenth century attributed to Maestro del Tondo Lathrop and to Maestro di Stratonica. There is also a wooden sculpture of the Pisan school dating back to the fourteenth century, portraying a Madonna.
Chiesa Parrocchiale di S. Vito e S. Modesto (12th century)
Inside you will find an altar triptych of the painter from Lucca, Michele Campanti, painted in 1482, portraying the “Madonna with Child amongst Saints John the Baptist, Vito, Modesto and Peter”.
Outside the Center of Montignoso
Pasquilio: A mountain particularly loved by the poet Giuseppe Ungaretti, where you can find a bust of the writer Enrico Pea and where you can get a feel of the last battles along the Gothic Line of the Second World War.
Nature and Surrounds
The Porta Lake, a natural oasi run by the WWF and Lega Ambiente, where many typically species of the zone are protected from extinction. This is the northernmost coastal swampland of Tuscany, which survived the interventions of land reclamation that progressively reduced the swamps that once characterized the Tuscan coasts. Between the Apuan Alps and the coast of the Versilia, the lake was a strategic area for controlling the coast and the main roads between Pietrasanta and Massa.
Cuisine of Montignoso
One of the typical Montignoso dishes is pane marocco, a bread made with corn meal mixed with some wheat flour, to which oil, olives and hot peppers are added. In ancient times this bread was baked on chestnut leaves. Another excellent dish is “Putta” Pie, made with savoury rice with a particular tangy taste due to the presence of abundant pepper and pecorino cheese.
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