Not the most famous one, that overlooking the splendid Tyrrhenian Sea with its beaches, but the places where the stern Apennines and the Alpi Apuane preserve almost uncontaminated all the charm of the far-off times.
A suitable country for anyone who loves peace and quietness.
A suitable country for anyone who loves the old tastes.
A country that can’t be visited during a weekend: try to spend here at least ten days and, we are certain, every day will offer a pleasant discovery.

This is the first of the specials dedicated to the Lunigiana and the neighbouring Garfagnana, that is similar but at the same time different.

At the confluence of the Aulella and Tassonaro torrents, built on a rocky high spur we find Casola, from the Latin “casuli” (huts).
Thanks to the trade ways leading to Lucca through the Garfagnana, Casola expanded during the 15th century around its castle of which the only remain is the cylindrical tower.
The town hosts the museum of the territory of the Aulella valley with finds dating back to the Palaeolithic period.
In the vicinity you can admire parishes and wonderful villages.

Codiponte, a hamlet of Casola, is a few kilometres off. Well-known for its early Romanesque parish dating back to 7th century, the village hides beautiful fifteenth-century portals, which sometimes have been well restored.
Unfortunately the centre is damaged in several points.

On the south you can admire the peaks of the Alpi Apuane whitened not by the eternal snows but by the more than famous marble pits o Carrara.

The Lunigiana geographically corresponds to the drainage area of the Magra river, while the historical Lunigiana comprises all the territories once subjected to the old bishopric of Luni, which controlled almost completely the current provinces of Massa Carrara and La Spezia.

For more info:
Lunigiana
en.wikipedia: Codiponte
it.wikipedia: Casola_in_Lunigiana