Pontremoli

A precious basket of artistic and monumental treasures: to cross its bridges or walk its cobbled streets is like leafing through an art history book.

The city’s fortune was made by its network of roads: apart from the Via Francigena, it was connected to the road for Genua passing through Zeri; the road for Borgallo which led to Borgotaro and on into the Piacenza area; the road for Cirone which led to Parma by way of Langhirano.
Today, Pontremoli is a precious basket of artistic and monumental treasures: to cross its bridges or walk its cobbled streets is like leafing through an art history book.

A view of the old town centre

Museum of Stelae Statues
The museum is housed inside the Piagnaro Castle. It contains a series of Stelae Statues, anthropomorphic sculptures that represent the most important artefacts of prehistoric times for Lunigiana, and are part of the wider phenomenon of European megalitic statues.
They cover a chronological period that goes from the Copper Age to Roman Times.
The meaning and purpose of these finds is still an open question. Accordino to the most accredited theories they represent male and female gods protecting the various aspects of human life.

Info::
Tel. 0187.831439
www.istitutovalorizzazionecastelli.it

Chiesa di S. Giorgio (11 century)
A splendid example of Romanesque architecture with its perfectly preserved apse

Duomo (17 century)
The construction work started in 1636.
The building, designed by A. Capra from Cremona, has a Latin-cross plan, with a central nave and an “airy” dome.
The interior, decorated with rich stuccoes, is lit by a spectacular “Ligurian style” lighting system and contains numerous lateral altars and confessionals made of polychromatic marble.

The Campanone (14 century)
Today, this is the symbol of the town. Originally it was the central tower of the Cazzaguerra wall, built by Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli in 1322 to divide the great piazza in two in order to keep the two rival factions, the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, separate.
In 1578 the tower was transformed into a campanile.

Accademia della Rosa Theatre (18 century)
Built in 1739 by 25 noble families of Pontremoli, it opened in 1772, and is a typical example of an eighteenth-century theatre. It is the oldest in the Apuan province.

Chiesa e Convento di San Francesco (today the parish church of S.S. Giovanni e Colombano)
According to tradition, the convent was built in 1219 after the Saint passed through Pontremoli.
The interior, with a nave and two aisles, is characterized by the stuccoes realized in the eighteenth century by the Ticino workshop of Portugalli.
It houses many works of art, includine a bas-relief by Agostino di Duccio portraying the Madonna with Child, the wooden Choir realized by Luchino da Parma, The Ecstasy of Saint Francis by G.B. Cignaroli and the Crucifixion by Guido Reni.

Few steps away from the town centre

Santuario della SS. Annunziata
A convent complex with one single nave, a raised apse and two spacious lateral chapels. It contains several works of art including a fresco from the fifteenth-century portaying the Annunciation, the octagonal marble strine traditionally attributed to Sansovino, the “pala dell' Adorazione dei Magi” by L. Cambiaso, the seventeenth century wooden “sagrestia” by friar Francesco Battaglia da Mignegno, the trompe l’oeil by F. Natali, the Quattrocento polyptych of the Madonna on the throne and Evengelists of the Genoa School, and the canvas of the Madonna and Saints by B. Tisi called “il Garofalo”.
Make sure you see the two Renaissance cloisters in the Convent.

Nature and routes

Following the many shady paths in the valleys around Pontremoli you can stroll through the woods of turkey oaks, beech and chestnut trees, in a real “paradise” of bramble fruits. A truly relaxing way to discover the rich historical-natural heritage of the valleys. The landscape of these valleys is dotted with charming towns and villages, as well as isolated farmsteads. Take a stroll along the Magra and its tributaries to discover the marvellous panorama of uncontaminated nature

Food and wine

A typical Pontremoli dish is “testaroli”.
The zone is also famous for its cakes: the “Amor” and the “Spongata”, a traditional Christmas cake with a variety of nuts including hazelnuts and almonds, honey, pine kernels, chocolate and candied fruits.
Don’t forget to taste the “torte d'erbi” savoury pie, the mushrooms, the chestnuts and the honey, acknowledged at a national level with the PDO mark