Malaspina Archive-Museum of Mulazzo
An incredible collection of books, documents and relics belonging to the Malaspina family of Mulazzo and to the navigator Alessandro Malaspina
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Thousands of years of history of Mulazzo in Lunigiana are intertwined with the destiny of a family of ancient noble lineage: the Marquises Malaspina, who ruled and shaped Lunigiana for centuries by building castles, mansions, fortified villages and watchtowers. The archive was created more than 50 years ago. Now, centuries later, thanks to the work of Dario Manfredi, who researches and catalogues thousands of documents and heirlooms belonging to the Malaspina family of Mulazzo and, in particular, to the navigator Alessandro Malaspina, there are more than 9,000 books, 600 periodicals and 25,000 manuscript documents. In 2005, the Malaspina Archive-Museum was inaugurated with the aim of preserving this important cultural heritage and preventing it from being lost. In 2007, the Alessandro Malaspina Foundation for Malaspina Studies was established for enriching the archival and bibliographic cultural heritage and enhancing the value of the Malaspina Family. Finally, in 2021 the “Alessandro Malaspina APS - Center for Historical Studies – Mulazzo” was created with the same cultural goals. Today, the museum can be visited on request. |
The Museum
The Museum is located inside the ancient Palazzo Malaspina, at the top of the historic village, right in front of Dante's Tower.
The Museum's cultural, educational and editorial activities focus on the history of shipping and the relationship between Europe and the Americas from a demo-ethno-anthropological, cartographic, geographical and philosophical point of view, and today it contains:
- 1 a specialized library with volumes from all over the world and antiquarian volumes dedicated to the family
- 2 permanent exhibitions with a summary of the fundamental documents of the round-the-world Expedition of the navigator Alessandro Malaspina: the first is entitled "Alessandro Malaspina and his Scientific Expedition" and the second is "The Images of America, Navigation Techniques and Iconography of the discovery
- 1 exhibition of interesting Malaspina memorabilia
The navigator Alessandro Malaspina
Prominent among the protagonists of the Archive-Museum is the Mulazzo-born navigator and explorer Alessandro Malaspina (Mulazzo 1754 - Pontremoli 1810), whose incredible story remained hidden for centuries.
In fact, few people know that Alessandro's merits include the Transoceanic expedition around the time of the corvettes Descubierta and Atrevida (from 1789 to 1794) for the Spanish Crown, which in terms of duration, length and scientific results can be considered among the greatest achieved in the 18th century!
The ambitious objectives were related to the testing of trade routes, but above all to the study of the immense Spanish estates: each region visited would be studied from a botanical, zoological and mineralogical point of view. In addition, information would be gathered on the indigenous peoples' idioms, religious beliefs and customs.
The voyage would have made it possible to draw geographical and hydrographical maps, and geographical coordinates would have been calculated more preciselythan before!
Malaspina Women in the 18th Century
Among the documents preserved in the Museum, those concerning some of the family's most remarkable women are of particular interest: the beautiful Annetta Malaspina, the enlightened sovereign Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina and her daughter Maria Beatrice D'Este Cybo-Malaspina.
Women whose intellect and elegance conquered the courts of Italy and Europe!
The 18th century was, in many respects, the century of women. In Italy and Europe, we find a clearly defined historical and cultural context, with unique characteristics never seen before regarding involvement of women in the literary salons of the Enlightenment and in the politics of the time, in which they were able to display their intellectual and literary talents.
