Lunigiana is an historical land divided between two districts and two Regions. At the outer North of Tuscany are located the high and the medium Lunigiana, in the district of Massa Carrara, while the low Lunigiana is placed in the district of La Spezia, alongside the last section of the river Magra. Its historical borders, however, are much more wider. In the past they used to correspond to the diocese of Luni, which dominated an ample territory that went from the Magra Valley to the Vara Valley, and to part of the Garfagnana, to the Gulf of La Spezia.

Today Lunigiana can be identified in Tuscany in the villages placed alongside the high and medium section of the river Magra: Aulla, Bagnone, Casola in Lunigiana, Comano, Filattiera, Fivizzano, Fosdinovo, Licciana, Mulazzo, Podenzana, Pontremoli, Trsana, Villafranca in Lunigiana, Zeri, and in Liguria in the municipalities located in the low Magra Valley: on the left bank of the river there are Castelnuvo Magra, Ortonovo, Santo Stefano Magra and Sarzana, while on the right bank there are Arcola, Vezzano Ligure and Ameglia.
Administratively, Lunigiana is made up of Tuscany’s municipalities only. Fortunately, the historical Lunigiana is still characterized by a deep cultural singularity, which lives through dialects, typical costumes, traditions and food that all cross the administrative borders between Tuscany and Liguria.
After all, in Ortonovo (disctrict of La Spezia) lie the ruins of the ancient Luni, From which the Lunigiana took its name.

This confusion belongs to the past, due to choices made against the logic of the people’s communion. In 1844 there were three Lunigianas, the “parmense” with Pontremoli and Bagnone, the “modenese” with Fivizzano, Aulla, Licciana, Massa Carrara and the “sardinian” with Sarzana, La Spezia and the Vara Valley. With the Unification of Itali, in 1859, many district were created, such as the Massa and Carrara one, with the Magra Valley and the Genova one with La Spezia and the Vara Valley, splitting the historical Lunigiana in two parts. In 1923 the district of La Spezia was born, with the current administrative territory, leaving the Lunigiana between two districts and two Regions definitively.

The medieval castles that best represent the Lunigiana are:
I CASTELLI DI BAGNONE, CASOLA , COMANO , FILATTIERA, FIVIZZANO, FOSDINOVO, LICCIANA NARDI, MULAZZO, PODENZANA, PONTREMOLI, TRESANA, VILLAFRANCA IN LUNIGIANA AND ZERI

Pisa and Lucca are distant 85km from Podenzana. Florence is distant 170km from Podenzana.

At 4 km from Podenzana we can find the city of Aulla. In the Resistenza boulevard, Nazionale street and in the historical city center there is a wide selections of shops, clubs, bars, charming ice-cream shops and bakeries.

Half an hour’s drive we can decide between Pontremoli, the characteristic Sarzana and La Spezia with its rich historical center and its shopping centers.

Almost one hour’s drive we can visit the wonderful Versilia, famous for shopping and nightlife.