Past and Present in the Apuans:
Fosdinovo and Pietrasanta

Pietrasanta: Piazza del Duomo from a sculpture

DURING THE MIDDLE AGES the nobility dotted the Apuans with fortresses to control the countryside and the trade routes. Now, the focus of the economy has shifted to marble, and the region draws some of the finest stoneworkers in the world.

Fosdinovo was the seat of one of the branches of the Malaspina family, and the castle at the high end of town, with its towering walls and imposing gate, looks as if it was lifted out of a fairy tale. So does the view; on a clear day you can even see Corsica.

There's more than just the view, though. The castle is still owned by the Malaspina family (a different branch), and they've done a beautiful job of restoring it and furnishing it with period furniture. There's the room Dante is said to have occupied, the great hall, the guards' kitchen, and even a dungeon. In short, if you've ever wondered how a feudal lord lived, now you'll know. The castle's hours are 9-12 and 15-18. Tours leave on the hour and cost £ 5.000/person.

Before leaving Fosdinovo, duck into the Church of San Remigio to see Galeotto Malaspina's tomb, which was wisely left undisturbed when the church was rebuilt in the late 1500's. Next door you will find the Oratory of the Holy Sacrament, a delightfully whimsical Baroque chapel.

Fosdinovo was (and is) a residence; Pietrasanta was once the capital of Versilia, the coastal plain north of Pisa, and its fortress was large enough to house a sizable garrison. Walk through Piazza del Duomo and up the hill, bear left at the Y, climb the stairs, and follow the path through the olive groves to the gate. The walls are imposing even in ruin, and you can just imagine how glorious the keep must have been during the 1500's, when it hosted, among others, Emperor Charles V.

Pietrasanta is still a capital today, but of a different kind: it hosts the studios to whom many of the world's best sculptors turn for assistance in translating their ideas into finished pieces. They're open morning and afternoon, and the artisans will be happy to let you watch them work. The tourist office in Piazza del Duomo has their addresses; don't miss Cervietti Franco (Via S. Agostino 53), Ghelardini Sem (Via S. Agostino 51), Palla (Piazza Carducci), and Arrighini Enrico (Via Sauro 3).

In addition to the studios, there is the Mueso dei Bozzetti, a collection of sculptors' models from the 1800's to the present, where you can admire everything from Gigi Guadagniucci's delicate abstractions to Fernando Botero's comfortingly chubby people. It's located in the cloisters of Sant'Agostino, next to the Duomo.

You should also visit the church of the Misericordia, on Via Mazzini. It has Fernando Botero's only frescoes, a rather saccharine Door into Paradise, with Mother Teresa kneeling before the Virgin and Child, and a gruesomely jolly Door into Hell, with the Devil looking on as Avarice counts his money, Vanity grins happily in her green dress, and Hitler seems quite upset to find himself where he belongs.

© 1996 Kyle M. Phillips, III