Sarzana
Encyclopedia
Sarzana is a town
and comune
in the Province of La Spezia
, of Liguria
, Italy
, 15 km east of Spezia, on the railway to Pisa
, at the point where the railway to Parma
diverges to the north. In 2008 it had a population of 21,356.
(ancient Macra), the boundary between Etruria
and Liguria in Roman
times, gave it military
importance in the Middle Ages
. The first mention of the city is found in 983 in a diplom of Otto I
: in 1202 the episcopal see was transferred from the ancient Luni
, 5 km southeast, to Sarzana.
Sarzana, owing to its position, changed masters more than once, belonging first to Pisa, then to Florence
, then to the Banco di S. Giorgio of Genoa
and from 1572 to 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
.
Sarzana was the birthplace of Pope Nicholas V
in 1397.
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 Corsica
n line of Buonapartes and hence a direct forebear of Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte
. He in turn was the great-grandfather of the emperor Napoleon I
(who was born in Corsica in 1769).
In 1921 Sarzana was the seat of fights between the population and Fascist squads (Italian: Fatti di Sarzana). During them, a small group of Carabinieri and, alter, simple citizens opposed and pushed back some 300 armed Fascists who had come to devastate the town, killing some of them. During the German occupation of Italy in World War II, Sarzana was a center of partisan resistance.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
and comune
Comune
In Italy, the comune is the basic administrative division, and may be properly approximated in casual speech by the English word township or municipality.-Importance and function:...
in the Province of La Spezia
Province of La Spezia
The Province of La Spezia is a province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of La Spezia.It has an area of 881 km², and a total population of 223,606 inhabitants...
, of Liguria
Liguria
Liguria is a coastal region of north-western Italy, the third smallest of the Italian regions. Its capital is Genoa. It is a popular region with tourists for its beautiful beaches, picturesque little towns, and good food.-Geography:...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, 15 km east of Spezia, on the railway to Pisa
Pisa
Pisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, at the point where the railway to Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
diverges to the north. In 2008 it had a population of 21,356.
History
The position of Sarzana at the entrance to the valley of the MagraMagra
The Magra is a 62 km river of Northern Italy, which runs through Pontremoli, Villafranca in Lunigiana and Aulla in the province of Massa-Carrara ; Santo Stefano di Magra, Vezzano Ligure, Arcola, Sarzana and Ameglia in the province of La Spezia .In Roman times it was known as the Macra and marked...
(ancient Macra), the boundary between Etruria
Etruria
Etruria—usually referred to in Greek and Latin source texts as Tyrrhenia—was a region of Central Italy, an area that covered part of what now are Tuscany, Latium, Emilia-Romagna, and Umbria. A particularly noteworthy work dealing with Etruscan locations is D. H...
and Liguria in Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
times, gave it military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
importance in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. The first mention of the city is found in 983 in a diplom of Otto I
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
Otto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
: in 1202 the episcopal see was transferred from the ancient Luni
Luni
Luni can refer to:* Luni, Italy, a town in Liguria* Luni, Pakistan, village in Pakistan* Luni, Rajasthan, village in Rajasthan, India* Luni River, in Rajasthan, India* Luni Coleone, a rapper from California...
, 5 km southeast, to Sarzana.
Sarzana, owing to its position, changed masters more than once, belonging first to Pisa, then to Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, then to the Banco di S. Giorgio of Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
and from 1572 to 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
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...
, the frontier between Liguria and Tuscany being now made to run between it and Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
.
Sarzana was the birthplace of Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V
Pope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
in 1397.
A branch of the Cadolingi di Borgonuovo family, Lords of Fucecchio
Fucecchio
Fucecchio is a town and comune of the province of Firenze in the Italian region of Tuscany. The main economical resources of the city are the leather industries, shoes industry and other manufacturing activities, although in the recent years their number has been decreasing because of a slight...
in Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
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
Ajaccio
Ajaccio , is a commune on the island of Corsica in France. It is the capital and largest city of the region of Corsica and the prefecture of the department of Corse-du-Sud....
, becoming the founder of the Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
n line of Buonapartes and hence a direct forebear of Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte
Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte
Nobile Sebastiano Nicola Buonaparte was the father of Giuseppe Maria Buonaparte, grandfather of Carlo Buonaparte and great-grandfather of Napoleon I....
. He in turn was the great-grandfather of the emperor Napoleon I
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
(who was born in Corsica in 1769).
In 1921 Sarzana was the seat of fights between the population and Fascist squads (Italian: Fatti di Sarzana). During them, a small group of Carabinieri and, alter, simple citizens opposed and pushed back some 300 armed Fascists who had come to devastate the town, killing some of them. During the German occupation of Italy in World War II, Sarzana was a center of partisan resistance.
Main sights
- The noteworthy cathedralSarzana CathedralSarzana Cathedral in Sarzana, Liguria, Italy, is a co-cathedral of the Diocese of La Spezia-Sarzana-Brugnato. It is dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary...
of white marbleMarbleMarble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
in the GothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style, dating from 1355, was completed in 1474. It contains two elaborately-sculptureSculptureSculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
d altarAltarAn altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
s of the latter period. - The former citadelCitadelA citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle. The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen....
, built by the Pisans, was demolished and re-erected by Lorenzo de' MediciLorenzo de' MediciLorenzo de' Medici was an Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic during the Italian Renaissance. Known as Lorenzo the Magnificent by contemporary Florentines, he was a diplomat, politician and patron of scholars, artists and poets...
. - The CastleCastleA castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...
on the hill of Sarzanello was built or enlarged by the condottieroCondottierithumb|Depiction of [[Farinata degli Uberti]] by [[Andrea del Castagno]], showing a 15th century condottiero's typical attire.Condottieri were the mercenary soldier leaders of the professional, military free companies contracted by the Italian city-states and the Papacy, from the late Middle Ages...
Castruccio CastracaniCastruccio CastracaniCastruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli 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 was exiled with his parents and others of their faction by the Guelphs "Black" party,...
. It is located on the site of a fortress existing here from as early as the reign of emperor Otto IOtto I, Holy Roman EmperorOtto I the Great , son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda of Ringelheim, was Duke of Saxony, King of Germany, King of Italy, and "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy" according to Arnulf of Milan...
, and was later a residence of the bishops of Luni. - PievePieveIn the Middle Ages, a pieve was a rural church with a baptistery, upon which other churches without baptisteries depended.The Italian word pieve is descended from Latin plebs which, after the expansion of Christianity in Italy, was applied to the community of baptized people...
of Sant'Andrea, dating to the 10th-11th centuries. It was later remade, the last time in 1579, and has not a 16th century portal. In the interior has marble 14th-15th centuries marble sculptures, a Vocation of Saints by Domenico FiasellaDomenico FiasellaDomenico Fiasella was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, mainly active in Genoa. He was nicknamed Il Sarzana, after his birthplace.-Biography:...
and a dodecagonal baptismal font. - Church of San Francesco, documented from 1238 and, according to the tradition, founded by St. Francis of Assisi himself. In the interior, on the Latin cross plan, is the funerary monument of Castruccio Castracani's son, by Giovanni di BalduccioGiovanni di BalduccioGiovanni di Balduccio was an Italian sculptor of the Medieval period. He was born in Pisa, and likely did not train directly with the famous Pisan sculptor Andrea Pisano. He travelled to Milan to help sculpt the arc of St. Peter Martyr now in the Portinari Chapel, in the Basilica of...
(1328) and the tomb of bishop Bernabò Malaspina, as well as a frescoed lunette attributed to Priamo della QuerciaPriamo della QuerciaPriamo della Quercia was an Italian painter and miniaturist of the early Renaissance. He was the brother of the famous sculptor Jacopo della Quercia....
. - The Palazzo del Capitano was designed by Giuliano da Maiano (1472), but is now entirely altered.