Sourrounding garfagnana

Surroundings and Tourist Routes

GARFAGNANA

In the area of the border town of Pieve Fosciana were found traces of Etruscan and Roman. The earliest documented history of the town, however, date back to 740, in Lombard times. There are few details of the meeting of the Middle Ages, and the first centuries of Basso have been found only documents that detect the presence of the church of St. Peter, for the years 773, 839, 940, 986, 1045. In 1234, precisely on July 26, you have a document certifying the resignation by the Lucchesi, Castle Castelnuovo at the court of Rome, by way of pledge. In the fourteenth century Castelnuovo had said as an important transit center, real "southern gate" of the valley of Garfagnana. It was in 1370 that Castruccio Castracani castelnuovesi convinced the owners to rise to Lucca, and settled in the fortress until 1377, when Lucca restored its dominance is to be placed in this period, the construction of the bridge, built by Castruccio to connect the existing village of the ancient castle "Cellabarotti", the current district of Saint Lucia. " In 1429, given the offensive in Florence who was penetrating into Garfagnana, and was placed under siege as Lucca, Castelnuovo is sottomise voluntarily to Nicholas d'Este of Ferrara, thus freeing themselves from the domination of Lucca: the Este made the capital of Castelnuovo newly Vicariate of Garfagnana, and reward the people with different privileges. In 1512 he entered in Castelnuovo Francesco della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, but was immediately expelled from the return of Lucchesi; in 1521 were finally the Florentines to seize the city, pushed by Pope Leo X. On the death of the Pope, the castelnuovesi insorsero, entering the castle and drive the papal commissioner, acclaims the return of Alfonso I d'Este at the head of the State Garfagnana for response, the Duke sent anything unless Ludovico Ariosto as governor (Alfonso resorted to the castelnuovesi, said as the famous poet, "... rather than in Rome on Leon lay ...")