What is Pontremoli known for?

Anthropomorphic sandstone figures of the Copper and Iron Ages, unique to Lunigiana, displayed in the Castello del Piagnaro. Italy's oldest literary prize voted by traveling booksellers, awarded in town every July since 1953. Cast-iron-baked flatbread cut into diamonds, eaten with pesto or oil, the signature plate of the Lunigiana.

Pontremoli is a comune in the province of Massa-Carrara, Tuscany region of Italy, about 91 kilometers from Parma.

Tuscany · Massa-Carrara

Pontremoli

The capital of Lunigiana at the confluence of the Magra and Verde, holding the prehistoric stele statues and the oldest book prize in Italy.

91 km / 57 mi

Nearest hub (Parma)

6,891

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Pontremoli sitswhere the Magra and the Verde meet, the northern gate of Tuscany and the historic capital of Lunigiana. The Via Francigena crossed here on the descent from the Cisa pass, which is why the town's medieval bridges, the Ponte della Cresa and the Ponte del Casotto, still carry pilgrim traffic eight centuries later. The Castello del Piagnaro above the centro storico holds the Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi: anthropomorphic sandstone figures carved between 3000 and 200 BC, eighty of them recovered from the surrounding hills, unique to this corner of Italy. The Bancarella Prize, awarded by the town's traveling booksellers since 1953, made Pontremoli the only Italian commune where a literary prize was founded by the people who actually sell books rather than write them. The local plate is testaroli, a Ligurian-Lunigiana flatbread cut into diamonds and eaten with pesto or olive oil.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello del Piagnaro
Tenth-century fortress on the hill above town, named for the slate roof tiles (piagne), housing the Museo delle Statue Stele.
Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi
Eighty anthropomorphic stone figures carved between 3000 and 200 BC, the densest concentration of Copper Age stele in Europe.
Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta
Seventeenth-century baroque cathedral with a single nave and a domed presbytery, on Piazza del Duomo.
Ponte della Cresa
Medieval stone bridge over the Magra, part of the Via Francigena crossing through the centro storico.
Centro storico
Long narrow town squeezed between the two rivers, with porticoed Piazza della Repubblica at its center.
Chiesa di Nostra Donna
Octagonal eighteenth-century church on Piazza della Repubblica, with a stucco interior.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June brings the rivers full and the chestnut woods green. The Premio Bancarella runs in late July on Piazza della Repubblica, the busiest week of the year. August is hot but cooler than the coast, with festivals across the Lunigiana valley. September and October are the harvest months: chestnuts, mushrooms, the new oil from the lower slopes. November through March is quiet. The Cisa pass closes occasionally to snow, and the town turns inward. The Castello del Piagnaro on a foggy morning, with the two rivers below the walls, is the picture every visitor takes home.