Sarzana (, ; lij, Sarzann-a) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an o ...
, ''
comune'' (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the
Province of La Spezia,
Liguria, Italy. It is east of
Spezia, on the
railway to
Pisa, at the point where the railway to
Parma diverges to the north.
In 2010, it had a population of 21,978.
History
The position of Sarzana, at the entrance to the valley of the
Magra
__NOTOC__
The Magra is a long river of Northern Italy, which runs through Pontremoli, Filattiera, Villafranca in Lunigiana and Aulla in the province of Massa-Carrara ( Tuscany); Santo Stefano di Magra, Vezzano Ligure, Arcola, Sarzana and Amegl ...
(ancient ''Macra''), the boundary between
Etruria and Liguria in
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
times, gave it
military importance in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
. The first mention of the city is found in 983 in a diploma of
Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
; in 1202 the episcopal see was transferred from the ancient
Luni, southeast, to Sarzana.
Sarzana, owing to its position, changed masters more than once, belonging first to
Pisa, then to
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, then to the
Banco di S. Giorgio of
Genoa and from 1572 to dogal Genoa itself.
These changes left in Sarzana a conspicuous fortress, which remains a focus of attraction for people interested in military history and specifically in the history of fortifications (see
Star fortress).
In 1814 it was assigned to the
Kingdom of Sardinia, the frontier between Liguria and Tuscany being now made to run between it and
Carrara.
In 1921 Sarzana was the scene of fights (') between the population and Mussolini's Fascist squads. During them, a small group of Carabinieri and, later, simple citizens opposed and pushed back some 300 armed Fascists who had come to devastate the town, resulting in 18 dead and about 30 injured.
[Bosworth, ''Mussolini's Italy'']
p. 173
/ref>
During the German occupation of Italy in World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, Sarzana was a centre of partisan resistance.
Ecclesiastical history
The Diocese of Sarzana was established on 4 August 1975, on territory reassigned from the suppressed Roman Catholic Diocese of Luni–Sarzana. It was immediately joined in personal union (''aeque principaliter'') with the bishopric of Brugnato and diocese of La Spezia from 4 August 1975 until their merger on 30 September 1986.
On 30 September 1986 it was suppressed, its territory and titles being merged into the Diocese of La Spezia–Sarzana–Brugnato, to which the bishop was appointed.
Its only incumbent as suffragan Bishop of Sarzana was
* Siro Silvestri (1975.09.03 – 1986.09.30), also last Bishop of Brugnato (Italy) (1975.09.03 – 1986.09.30) and last Bishop of La Spezia (Italy) (1975.09.03 – 1986.09.30); previously Bishop of Foligno (Italy) (1955.07.21 – 1975.09.03); later first Bishop of La Spezia–Sarzana–Brugnato (Italy) (1986.09.30 – resigned 1989.12.07), died 1997.06.14.
Main sights
* the former Sarzana Cathedral: a white marble Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
-style church built 1355–1474. It houses two elaborately sculptured altars of the latter period.
* Citadel of Sarzana; former citadel built by Pisans, was demolished and re-erected by Lorenzo de' Medici.
* Castle of Sarzana: located on the hill of Sarzanello, at the site of fortress from as early as emperor Otto I
Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), traditionally known as Otto the Great (german: Otto der Große, it, Ottone il Grande), was East Frankish king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of He ...
. The castle was rebuilt or enlarged by the condottiero Castruccio Castracani
Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (; 1281 – 3 September 1328) was an Italian ''condottiero'' and duke of Lucca.
Biography
Castruccio was born in Lucca, a member of the noble family of Antelminelli, of the Ghibelline party. In 1300 he ...
, and later became the residence of the bishops of Luni.
* '' Pieve of Sant'Andrea'': 10th–11th century parish church, and rebuilt in 1579, and has 16-century portal. It houses 14th–15th century marble statuary, a ''Vocation of Saints'' by Domenico Fiasella
Domenico Fiasella (12 August 1589 – 19 October 1669) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. He was nicknamed ''Il Sarzana'', after his birthplace.
Biography
He was born in c, the son of Giovanni Fiasella, a silve ...
, and a dodecagonal baptismal font.
* ''San Francesco San Francesco may refer to:
* San Francesco d'Assisi ( 1182–1226), Italian Catholic friar, deacon, philosopher, mystic, and preacher
* San Francesco al Campo, a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Turin, Piedmont, Italy
Churches in Italy
...
'': documented from 1238 and, according to tradition, founded by St Francis himself. It houses the funerary monument (1328) of Castruccio Castracani's son, by Giovanni di Balduccio
Giovanni di Balduccio (c. 1290 – after 1339) was an Italian sculptor of the Medieval period.
Life
The artist was born in Pisa, and likely did not train directly with the famous Pisan sculptor Andrea Pisano. He travelled to Milan to hel ...
; the tomb of bishop Bernabò Malaspina; and a frescoed lunette attributed to Priamo della Quercia.
* '' Palazzo del Capitano'': designed by Giuliano da Maiano (1472), but now entirely altered.
Notable locals
* Sarzana was the birthplace of Tommaso Parentucelli
Pope Nicholas V ( la, Nicholaus V; it, Niccolò V; 13 November 1397 – 24 March 1455), born Tommaso Parentucelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 March 1447 until his death in March 1455. Pope Eugene mad ...
, the future Pope Nicholas V, in 1397 a son of local doctor Bartolomeo Parentucelli.
* A branch of the Cadolingi di Borgonuovo family, Lords of Fucecchio in Tuscany from the 10th century onwards, which had acquired the name of Buonaparte, had settled near Sarzana before 1264. In 1512 a member of the family (Francesco Buonaparte, who died in 1540) permanently took up residence in Ajaccio, becoming the founder of the Corsican line of Buonapartes and hence a direct forebear of Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte. He in turn was the great-grandfather of the emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
(who was born in Corsica in 1769).
International relations
Twin towns – sister cities
Sarzana is twinned with:
* Villefranche de Rouergue, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
* Eger, Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
Climate
The Köppen Climate Classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
subtype for this climate is " Csb" (Mediterranean Climate).Climate Summary for Sarzana, Italy
/ref>
See also
*Oratory of San Girolamo, Sarzana The Oratory of San Girolamo is a free-standing, centralized, Baroque architecture, Baroque-style, Roman Catholic prayer hall, near the cathedral, in the center of Sarzana, in the region of Tuscany, Italy.
History
An oratory with a square layout a ...
*Crucifix
A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (La ...
by Mastro Guglielmo
References
Cathedral of Sarzana
* Bosworth, R. J. B. (2007).
Mussolini's Italy: Life Under the Fascist Dictatorship, 1915–1945
', London: Penguin Books,
Sources and external links
*
{{authority control
Cities and towns in Liguria