Fosdinovo is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Massa and Carrara The province of Massa-Carrara ( it, provincia di Massa-Carrara) is a province in the Tuscany region of central Italy. It is named after the provincial capital Massa, and Carrara, the other main town in the province. History The province of "M ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

, located about northwest of

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

and about northwest of Massa. Fosdinovo borders the following municipalities: Aulla,

Carrara Carrara ( , ; , ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence. Its mot ...

Castelnuovo Magra Castelnuovo Magra ( egl, Castarnò) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of La Spezia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa and about east of La Spezia. The municipality of Castelnuovo Magra contains the ' ...

Fivizzano Fivizzano is a ''comune'' in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy. History It became part of the Republic of Florence in the 15th century thus gaining the Tuscan republic an important foothold in Lunigiana, a key region whi ...

Ortonovo Ortonovo is a ''frazione'' (borough) in the comune of Luni in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, north-western Italy. It is located about southeast of Genoa and about east of La Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) ...

Sarzana Sarzana (, ; lij, Sarzann-a) is a town, '' 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 Parm ...

History

The town is home to a medieval castle of the

Malaspina family The House of Malaspina was a noble Italian family of Longobard origin that descended from Boniface I, through the Obertenghi line, that ruled Lunigiana from the 13th to the 14th centuries, and the marquisate of Massa and lordship of Carrara (whi ...

, rulers of the

duchy of Massa The Duchy of Massa and Principality of Carrara ( it, Ducato di Massa e Principato di Carrara) was a small state that controlled the towns of Massa and Carrara from 1473 until 1829. History Although the city of Massa had already known its maxim ...

. It is also the seat of the Medieval Festival of Fosdinovo (July) and the Forza del Sorriso Festival (Strength of the Smile Festival) (the fourth weekend of August). This second festival is a new, vital festival where the chief theme is the smile. Near to the castle is the Church of San Remigio, built in the 13th century by the Bishops of Luni. The baroque church contains the marble tomb of Galeotto Malaspina. The ''Oratorio della Compagnia dei Bianchi'' (Oratory of the Fellowship of the Whites) was built in the 16th century and features a white marble facade donated by Pasquale Malaspina in 1666. File:Fosdinovo 2.jpg, A street in the old town of Fosdinovo File:Fosdinovo 6.jpg, Oratorio della Compagnia dei Bianchi File:Fosdinovo 5.jpg, Castello Malaspina File:Fosdinovo (Massa Carrara).jpg, Fosdinovo seen from Castello Malaspina File:Fosdinovo-Oratorio dei Bianchi8.JPG, Inside Oratorio dei Bianchi

Sister cities

Fosdinovo is twinned with: *

Sauxillanges Sauxillanges () is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France. Twin towns Sauxillanges is twinned with: * Fosdinovo, Italy, since 2003 See also *Communes of the Puy-de-Dôme department The following is a list of ...

, France, since 2003

References

External links

Official website
Cities and towns in Tuscany {{Massa-Carrara-geo-stub