When Dante came to Lunigiana

Dante in LunigianaDante is said to have first arrived in Lunigiana in 1306, where he stayed in Mulazzo at the court of  the Marquis Malaspina Franceschino and undertook certain duties as their representative at the Peace of Castelnuovo in October of that year.  The first historical reenactment commemorating his arrival was in 2011, and this is now an annual event.

At the first event, Dante arrived on horseback, to be greeted by the residents of Mulazzo, dressed in medieval finery. Dante ascended to the top of the village, where he gave a splendid speech, which included a message of peace, incongruously waving the flags of the European Union and Italy, neither of which were obviously about in the 1300s. Dante in Lunigiana

The streets of Mulazzo were lined with stalls selling produce, such as honey, and wine from Lunigiana, and a typical feste provided cooked delicacies, including testaroli, from the region.

Dante in LunigianaMulazzo is full of reminders of Dante. Its main piazza is named after him, his home is now a museum, there is a statue of him (seen in the last picture) and the great Dante scholar, Livio Galanti (1931-1995) came from Mulazzo.

UPDATE:  Don’t miss Alex’s wonderful photos of the event over on Pica Pica

When Dante came to Lunigiana appeared on Ciao Lunigiana on 16 April 2011. All rights reserved.

 


Sheila

About Sheila

Always trying to find out more about Lunigiana and to share it via Ciao Lunigiana, Sheila is a semi-retired corporate communications and marketing professional, who is enamoured with the very northern part of Tuscany, that bit that even the Tuscan tourist authority seems to cut off their maps.
View all posts by Sheila →

4 Responses to When Dante came to Lunigiana

  1. Welshcakes Limoncello 16/04/2011 at 19:53 #

    How interesting. I’ll put it on my list of places to visit.

    • Moll
      Sheila 16/04/2011 at 20:01 #

      Pat, if you are ever in the area, do let me know. We will give you a guided tour! x

  2. Heiko 16/04/2011 at 20:25 #

    Of course helso mentions the castle of nearby Giovagallo in the divine comedy. Now a difficult to find ruin in the woods.

    • Moll
      Sheila 16/04/2011 at 20:29 #

      Gosh! Well there you go.