The best traffic-free bike rides around Casola In Lunigiana

A fantastic parish church that's worth a visit. The interior, especially, is truly beautiful.

Medici Fountain

The parish church of Codiponte of Saints Cornelio and Cipriano is among the most fascinating and artistically rich in the territory of the ancient Diocese of Luni. With its figurative capitals and its artistic masterpieces, it is a true paradigm of the Lunigiana Romanesque. The parish church stands on the right bank of the Aulella, near a bridge beyond which, in the distance, you can see the ruins of the 11th-century Bianchi d'Erberia castle. The church has a basilica plan with three naves with columns and round arches and perfectly preserved notched cubic capitals, which bear figures typical of the medieval image system: the tree of life, lily, six-petalled daisy, serpent with feet, two-tailed mermaid and many others. The late medieval triptych with the Virgin on the throne, the SS. Cornelius and Cyprian, the church's patron saints, and the image of the Holy Face, a famous and venerated Lucchese relic, which recalls the passage of the Via del Volto Santo in these very places.

Characteristic village of the upper Aulella valley, nestled along the crest of a rocky spur, the town still today winds along an axis that has at its center the baroque church (17th century), dedicated to San Martino, with a singular façade. On the sides of the monument, two pedestrian streets with a slight difference in level run between tightly packed stone houses, softened by arches and portals. Farmyards, terraces and open spaces open the view onto a lush nature.

You have fully grasped the meaning of the octagon in the religious field. Great

The Pieve di San Lorenzo is worth a visit. A papal document attests to its presence as early as 1148, but it is likely that the church was built on a pre-existing body. The interior of the church is a perfect example of Romanesque architecture, truly extraordinary for having been preserved as it was originally, without subsequent alterations. The façade also reflects the original structure, but over time it has undergone slight modifications due to earthquakes that required its restoration.

Fivizzano, located at 326 meters above sea level. between the peaks of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines and the Apuan Alps, it is one of the most interesting centers in Lunigiana. It has ancient origins although it acquired importance first with the Malaspina family in the Middle Ages and then with the Medici in the Renaissance, the latter defined it as the 'beautiful corner of Florence'. In 1848 it was also elevated to a Noble City by Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany. The historic centre, surrounded by walls, is dominated by Piazza Medicea with its imposing fountain. The square is overlooked by numerous historic buildings and the Provost Church of Saints Jacopo and Anthony, Marian sanctuary of the Madonna of Reggio, Blessed Virgin of Adoration, since 1946. Perhaps it might surprise some, but Fivizzano has played a far from marginal role in the national humanistic culture, in fact it was here that Jacopo da Fivizzano opened one of the first printing presses in all of Italy, in which the first typewriter ever built was designed and used. The Printing Museum was set up in his honor inside Palazzo Fantoni, an ancient stately building recovered by an illustrious doctor and writer from Fivizza, Loris Jacopo Bononi. An important role in the cultural history of the city was then played by the Accademia degli Imperfetti, an institution founded in 1500 which continued its activity with fervor until it made possible the construction of the Teatro degli Imperfetti - inaugurated in 1807 and equipped with as many as six hundred seats. Lovers of literature will not fail to visit the Augustinian complex and its library, equipped with a beautiful collection of works from the adjoining church; the hostel and, outside, the bronze monument which recalls the Fivizzano origins of Nicholas V, the Pope who designed the Vatican library. (Source: https://www.visittuscany.com/it/citta-e-borghi/fivizzano/)

This place offers an extraordinary vision of the Apuan Alps, giving a broad and engaging look at the majestic mountain peaks. An unmissable stop for those who love to enjoy the natural beauty and serenity that only such a suggestive panorama can offer.