• Sarzana
• History
• Castles
• Monuments
• Natural Park
• Typical Products
• How to Arrive

History of Sarzana

The archaeological finds, such as examples of stele statues, show how Sarzana has been inhabited since Neolithic times and probably its name comes from the predial place name Sergius, from which originates the feminine name Sergiana to which was soon added the military designation “castrum”, fort. First mentioned in a diploma of Emperor Otto I dated 963 in which possession of castrum Sarzanae by the Bishop of Luni is recognized, situated where currently stands the fortress of Sarzanello, in control of the populated area downstream from the crossroad between Via Aurelia and the road to Parma and Piacenza.

The decline of nearby Luni, referred to in Dante’s Paradise triplets, is one of the causes for the growth of Sarzana; Pope Innocent III’s decree transferred the bishop’s seat, in the Papal Bulls of March 7th, 1203 and of March 25th, 1204, from the by then depopulated Luni to Sarzana. After various transfers of ownership between bishops and Genovese nobles, on June 12th, 1316, Bishop Gherardino Malaspina, named Castruccio Castracani as viscount of the Luni diocese, who dominated the city until his death on September 3rd, 1328. Following the return of the Pisans, Sarzana came under the control of the Genovese Republic (1438) and then under the Medici who set siege to the city in 1487, during the war known as "war of Serrezzana", in which the fortress Firmafede was completely destroyed, to be later rebuilt and renamed Cittadella. Control of the area was held by the Genovese who remained until the conquest by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1797, Napoleon Bonaparte himself made Sarzana part of the Ligurian Democratic Republic and named it chief city of one of the three Cantons of the Apennines District, until 1815 when, with the Congress of Vienna, its lands were included under the realm of Sardinia and from 1861 it became part of the Italian realm, falling within the province of Massa-Carrara until 1923, the year in which it became part of the newly formed province of La Spezia.

In the summer of 1921 Sarzana became the focal point of encounters between fascist squads and the populace, culminating on July 21st in the so-called "fatti di Sarzana" (deeds of Sarzana), one of the few incidences of armed resistance against the rise of fascism which occurred again during the period after the Italian Armistice of September 8th, 1943. During nazi occupation, Sarzana, being near the Gothic Line, gave a decisive contribution to the partisan’s struggle. On the hills overlooking the city the so-called "sbandati" (dispersed ones) united with the partisan brigades, taking up the fight with the German and fascist occupiers, responsible for massacres in the surrounding areas of Lunigiana and Garfagnana.