Castiglione di Garfagnana is a medieval walled town and ''
comune
A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...
'' of 1,878 inhabitants in the
province of Lucca
The province of Lucca () is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca.
It has an area of and a population of about 390,000. The province contains 33 ''comuni'' (: ''comune'').
Geography
Situated in northwester ...
.
It sits on a hillside above the river
Esarulo, a tributary of the
Serchio.
The town is renowned for the band
Filarmonica Alpina, founded in 1858 with the name of ''Fanfara popolare''. It is one of
I Borghi più belli d'Italia
() is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...
("The most beautiful villages of Italy").
History
The origin of the town dates back to a Roman ''castra'', called ''Castrum Leonis'', ("Lion's Castle"), built to command the valley that leads to the San Pellegrino Pass, the easiest access for armies over the
Apennines. The fortress later developed under the
Lombard and
Frank dominations.
In 1170 it was besieged by the Republic of
Lucca
Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...
. Castiglione surrendered, but the high taxes imposed led the city to form a league with other communes of
Garfagnana against Lucca.
In 1227 Castiglione was again besieged and suffered further destruction by Lucchese soldiers. Political conflicts continued in the following years, until a peace was reached in 1371: Lucca gained definitive control of Castiglione, and established a permanent administrator. The defensive structure was upgraded with the widening of the town walls.
During the 15th century Castiglione was one of the few communities in
Garfagnana that did not submit to the
Este family, instead remaining loyal to the Republic of Lucca. Throughout the wars against the Estensi, the fortress was again besieged, in particular in 1603 and 1613. There then followed a long period of peace, marred only by boundary disputes with the neighbouring communes.
The
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
(1815) assigned Castiglione to
Marie Louise of Bourbon, Grand Duchess of Lucca, who in 1819 gave it to
Francis IV of Modena.
Main sights
Castiglione's most striking attraction is the Medieval bridge built by Spinetta Malaspina in the 13th century. The town is also famous for its well-preserved 13th-century medieval walls with large towers (the ''Torrioni'') and the castle (''Rocca'').
The church of ''San Pietro'' was erected in 723 by two Lombard brothers, Aurinand and Gudifrid, but was largely rebuilt in the 12th century by Bishop Guido III of Lucca. ''San Michele'' (14th century) is the other main holy building of the town. Both churches use wall towers as their belfries.
The Church of ''San Pellegrino'' (in the ''frazione of the same name''), at and commanding the valley of the
Serchio river, houses the mortal remains of St. Pellegrino and St. Bianco.
The town has a panoramic vista over the valley below.
Sister cities
*
Isola, France, since 2010
References
External links
*
Garfagnana landscape
{{DEFAULTSORT:Castiglione Di Garfagnana
Hilltowns in Tuscany
Borghi più belli d'Italia