The Firmafede fortress and the workshops
In the Val di Magra, near the border with Tuscany, Sarzana is an elegant small town of medieval and Renaissance origin, which for centuries was contended between Pisa, Lucca, Florence and Genoa because of its strategic position on the Via Francigena and the roads between the Po valley and the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its centre, enclosed by walls, is crossed by the long Via Mazzini, the main street, lined with palaces, churches and historic shops, and is one of the liveliest in Liguria, with antique dealers, art galleries, cafés and the workshops of artisans.
The town is dominated by two fortresses. In the centre, the Fortezza Firmafede, known as the Cittadella, was rebuilt in 1488 by Lorenzo the Magnificent, who had conquered Sarzana for Florence, on the remains of an earlier Pisan fortress: a massive rectangular fortress with round towers and a moat, an example of the new military architecture adapted to cannons, which today hosts exhibitions and events. On a hill outside the town, the Fortezza di Sarzanello, built by the lord of Lucca Castruccio Castracani in the fourteenth century, has an unusual triangular plan. The Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta houses a famous painted Crucifix of 1138 by Maestro Guglielmo, one of the oldest dated in Italy. Sarzana is famous for the Festival della Mente, a festival of ideas and culture held at the beginning of September, for the summer antiques market "La Soffitta nella Strada", and for the spungata, a sweet pastry with a filling of jam, dried fruit and spices.
Tip: in August the streets fill with antiques stalls; taste the spungata in the historic pastry shops of Via Mazzini.
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