Verrucola: A True Journey into the Middle Ages
At the heart of the village, the Malaspina Castle rises in all its grandeur: towers of varying sizes, shapes, and heights are connected to the central palace, forming a complex where military and residential functions coexist.
Low stone houses outline a sort of defensive wall along the perimeter of the verrucula (“little wart”), the hill that rises between the Mommio stream and the Collegnago canal. It’s a true plunge into the Middle Ages.
Before the 15th century, this was the center of power, and only with the definitive passage to Florence did Fivizzano rise to become a key player in the political life of eastern Lunigiana.
It was Spinetta Malaspina “the Great” who, in the 14th century, masterminded this architectural organization after driving out the previous feudal lords: the Bosi family.
In the loggia that leads into the castle stands the church dedicated to Saint Margaret. This is not the ancient castrense (fortress) church known since the 12th century, whose remains can still be seen in the massive Romanesque ashlar masonry on the southern side of the village, and in some walls visible only from within the castle’s perimeter.
The current church dates back to the period between the late 15th and early 16th centuries—built more than a century after the death of Spinetta Malaspina, who, in his 1352 will, had requested to be buried in the castle’s church. The tomb of the Marquis of Verrucola has never been found.
One of the most brutal episodes of the Middle Ages in Lunigiana took place here.
In 1418, Leonardo and Galeotto Malaspina, marquises of Castel dell’Aquila, had their rivals from Verrucola slaughtered in their sleep: the elderly Marquis Niccolò Malaspina and his entire family were killed.
Only young Spinetta Malaspina, descendant of the famed commander of the same name, survived, hidden by a servant. He would later inherit the title.
Verrucola was enriched by the sculptor and painter Pietro Cascella, who contributed several works—primarily fountains—placed throughout the village to embellish it following a skillful restoration.
In the second half of the 1970s, the artist and his wife, Cordelia Von Den Steinen, purchased the castle, restoring it and transforming it into a cultural and artistic center.
Nearby you can find
The Village of Fivizzano, Bozzi delle Fate, Pozze di Magliano, Lago Padule, Sacred Art Museum of San Giovanni, Aquila Castle.
Lunigiana World thanks our friend Paolo Bissoli for the text about the village of Verrucola.
