Inhabitants in 1991: 10.164
The
municipal territory of Aulla extends for 59,79 square kilometres in a
hilly zone in the Val di Magra, Ancient castle, it reached its present
day territorial extension in the last century when the district of
Caprigliola was aggregated to it in 1870 and that of Albiano in 1881.
The village was erected in antiquity as a stopping point along
an important traffic route, and in 884 Adalberto, Marquis di Toscana,
founded a castle and the Abbey di San Caprasio “inter flumes
Macrae et Aulae”. Over the years the Abbots assumed a form of sovereignty
over the surrounding territory, officially ratified by the seal of Onorio
II in 1126 and then by a certificate of Federico II in 1222. It passed,
towards the end of the XIII century, under the jurisdiction of the Bishop
of Luni, and about one century later Aulla became the possession of
the Malaspina di Ponzano. Among other events (by now the little city
with its territory had become a strategic zone of notable importance
and relevance and therefore the target of the great antagonists: Pisa,
Lucca, Genova, Firenze who with Giovanni dalle Bande Nere conquered it
and possessed it from 1525 to 1529) the Marquis di Aulla held the
city until 1543 when he ceded it to the dei Centurione family of Genova.
The new domination lasted until 1704. Put under auction in 1710 by Emperor
di Baviera, Aulla was acquired by the Malaspina di Podenzana for 30,000
florins. The feudal was abolished by Napoleon after the Vienna Congress
and was assigned to the Estensi Dukes of Modena, with whom it remained
until the Risorgimento, when it became part of the province of MassaCarrara
(1859). During the last war it was rased to the ground by the Anglo
American bombardments and during the Liberation struggles, the partisan
formations were particularly active and audacious, after having strongly
opposed the German troops, they managed on 24 April 1945 to free the
city before the arrival of the allies.
Places to visit: La Brunella, Fort erected in
the 1500s, it has the Seat of the Natural History Museum of Lunigiana
which efficiently illustrates the various ambiences of the territory.
Madonna della Neve, sanctuary constructed in the early 1600s
and destination for pilgrimages. |
Historical info reproduced upon authorization of Regione Toscana - Dipartimento della Presidenza E Affari Legislativi e Giuridici
Translated by Ann Mountford |