The Garfagnana () is a historical and geographical region of

central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central It ...

, today part of the

province of Lucca The province of Lucca ( it, provincia di Lucca) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lucca. It has an area of and a total population of about 390,000. There are 33 ''comuni'' (singular: ''comune'') in the pro ...

, in

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

. It is the upper valley or basin of the river

Serchio The Serchio (; la, Auser) is the third longest river in the Italian region of Tuscany at , coming after the Arno at and the Ombrone, . By mean rate of flow, it is the second largest, smaller than Arno but larger than Ombrone. The principal sou ...

, and thus lies between the main ridge of the Northern

Apennines The Apennines or Apennine Mountains (; grc-gre, links=no, Ἀπέννινα ὄρη or Ἀπέννινον ὄρος; la, Appenninus or – a singular with plural meaning;''Apenninus'' (Greek or ) has the form of an adjective, which wou ...

to the north-east and the

Alpi Apuane The Apuan Alps ( it, Alpi Apuane) are a mountain range in northern Tuscany, Italy. They are included between the valleys of the Serchio and Magra rivers, and, to the northwest, the Garfagnana and Lunigiana, with a total length of approximately . ...

to the west. The principal towns are

Castelnuovo di Garfagnana Castelnuovo di Garfagnana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Lucca, Toscana, central Italy. It is located at the confluence of the Serchio and the Turrite Secca rivers, close to the intersection of roads passing through the Apennine Mount ...

and

Barga Barga may refer to: People * Barga Mongols in the early 20th century Places * Barga (department), Burkina Faso * Barga, Tuscany Barga is a medieval town and ''comune'' of the province of Lucca in Tuscany, central Italy. It is home to around 10, ...

History

Garfagnana was historically inhabited by Ligurian (

Apuani The Apuani were one of the most formidable and powerful of the Ligurian tribes who lived in ancient north-western Italy, mentioned repeatedly by Livy. From the circumstances related by him, it appears that they were the most easterly of the Ligu ...

and Friniati) and Etruscan populations.Giulio Ciampoltrini, ''Gli Etruschi della Garfagnana. Ricerche nell'insediamento della Murella a Castelnuovo di Garfagnana'', Polistampa Firenze 2005 The area was conquered by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 180 BC. After the fall of the

Carolingian empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

in 888 it came under the control of various

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a wa ...

lords, and was later caught up in the rivalry between the

Guelphs The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

and the

Ghibellines The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rivalr ...

. In 1248 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Frederick II ceded it to the

Republic of Lucca The Republic of Lucca ( it, Repubblica di Lucca) was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Lucca in Tuscany, which lasted from 1160 to 1805. Its territory extended beyond the city of Lucca, reaching the surr ...

. In the fifteenth century much of the territory came under the control of the

d'Este The House of Este ( , , ) is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled parts of Italy and Germany for many centuries. The original House of Este's elder branch, which is known as the House of Welf, included dukes of Bavaria ...

family of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

, and in 1847 the remaining part was absorbed into the

Duchy of Modena A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between " ...

. With the

unification of Italy The unification of Italy ( it, Unità d'Italia ), also known as the ''Risorgimento'' (, ; ), was the 19th-century Political movement, political and social movement that resulted in the Merger (politics), consolidation of List of historic stat ...

, the Garfagnana became part of the province of Massa e Carrara, and in 1923 passed to that of Lucca.

Geography

The Garfagnana is almost entirely mountainous. It has heavy rainfall, and much of it is densely wooded, often with

sweet chestnut ''Castanea sativa'', the sweet chestnut, Spanish chestnut or just chestnut, is a species of tree in the family Fagaceae, native to Southern Europe and Asia Minor, and widely cultivated throughout the temperate world. A substantial, long-lived ...

, ''Castanea sativa''. Chestnuts were until recently an important food source; the

Farina di Neccio della Garfagnana Farina may refer to: Places * Farina, South Australia, a town in Australia * Farina, Illinois, a village in the United States People * Farina (surname) * Farina (singer), a Colombian reggaeton singer Fictional characters * Farina (''Pearls B ...

, a chestnut flour, has DOP status. The

farro Farro refers to the grains of three wheat species, which are sold dried and cooked in water until soft. It is eaten plain or is often used as an ingredient in salads, soups, and other dishes. Definition Farro is an ethnobotanical term for thr ...

of the region, Farro della Garfagnana, has Indicazione Geografica Protetta status; the area is also known for its lentils and for its

porcini ''Boletus edulis'' (English: cep, penny bun, porcino or porcini) is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus ''Boletus''. Widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere across Europe, Asia, and North America, it does not occu ...

mushrooms. It is the area of origin of the Garfagnina breed of cattle, of the Garfagnina breed of goat, and of the Garfagnina Bianca sheep breed. The capital of the region is

. The Garfagnana and

Lunigiana The Lunigiana () is a historical territory of Italy, which today falls within the provinces of Massa Carrara, Tuscany, and La Spezia, Liguria. Its borders derive from the ancient Roman settlement, later the medieval diocese of Luni, which no long ...

were struck by a powerful

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

on 7 September 1920. The worst damage and largest number of deaths were at

Villa Collemandina Villa Collemandina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lucca in the Italian region Tuscany, located about northwest of Florence and about north of Lucca. Villa Collemandina borders the following municipalities: Castiglione di Garfa ...

; the greatest intensity was recorded there and at

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 ...

References

Bibliography

* Giulio Ciampoltrini, ''Ricerche sugli insediamenti liguri dell’alta valle del Serchio'', in “Bollettino di Archeologia”, 19-20-21, 1993, pp. 39–70. (Italian) * Giulio Ciampoltrini, ''L’insediamento etrusco nella valle del Serchio fra IV e III sec. a.C. Considerazioni sull’abitato di Ponte Gini di Orentano'', in “Studi Etruschi”, LXII, 1996, pp. 173–210. * Giulio Ciampoltrini, ''Gli Etruschi della Garfagnana. Ricerche nell'insediamento della Murella a Castelnuovo di Garfagnana'', Polistampa Firenze 2005 (Italian) * Giulio Ciampoltrini, Paolo Notini, Silvio Fioravanti, Consuelo Spataro, ''Gli Etruschi e il Serchio'', I Segni dell'Auser, Bientina 2012, pp. 80 (Italian) {{Authority control Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy Geography of Tuscany Province of Lucca