Tuscany · Massa-Carrara
Licciana Nardi
A Lunigiana Malaspina village in the Apennine Tosco-Emiliano park, named in 1933 for the Risorgimento patriot Anacarsi Nardi.
Known for
ANACARSI NARDI
Risorgimento conspirator shot at Cosenza in 1844, his surname added to the comune in 1933.
MALASPINA CASTLES
Two surviving Malaspina holdings in the comune, at Licciana and at Bastia, both visitable.
PANIGACCI
Unleavened disks cooked between terracotta plates, the Lunigiana flatbread eaten with stracchino or salume.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Giacomo il Maggiore, 25 July
Why come
Licciana Nardi sits in the eastern Lunigiana, on the slopes of the Apennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park. The town is one of several Malaspina holdings in the valley, with a castle in the centro storico and another above Bastia, three kilometers up the ridge. In 1933 the commune added the surname Nardi to its name in honor of Anacarsi Nardi, one of the Bandiera brothers' co-conspirators, shot by Bourbon firing squad in 1844 after the failed insurrection at Cosenza.
The Apennine ridge above the town is part of the national park, with chestnut and beech forests, the Lagastrello pass, and trails connecting Lunigiana to the Garfagnana on the other side. The local plate is panigacci, thin disks of unleavened dough cooked between terracotta plates and eaten with stracchino, salume, or pesto, a Lunigiana tradition shared with Pontremoli and the upper Magra villages.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Licciana Nardi’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
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What to see
Castello Malaspina di Licciana
Medieval Malaspina fortress in the centro storico, partly inhabited and partly visitable on request.
Castello di Bastia
Smaller Malaspina castle in the frazione of Bastia, three kilometers up the ridge, with a fourteenth-century keep.
Parco Nazionale dell'Appennino Tosco-Emiliano
Chestnut and beech forests on the ridge above the town, with the Lagastrello pass and trails into the Garfagnana.
Pieve di Venelia
Romanesque parish church on the ridge between Licciana and Bastia, one of the oldest in the eastern Lunigiana.
Frazione di Apella
Mountain hamlet on the park boundary, the trailhead for the higher Apennine ridges and the Lagastrello.
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Living here
- Population 4,709
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 28 min drive
- Regional capital Firenze, 2 h 5 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 215 m
- Population: 4,709
- Surface area: 55.68 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
More towns near Licciana Nardi
Fosdinovo
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