Via Dantis
In Mulazzo, an itinerary dedicated to the great poet Dante Alighieri
The Via Dantis is a permanent open-air route, dedicated to the great poet Dante Alighieri: an itinerary in nine stages that crosses the historic village of Mulazzo in Lunigiana retracing the symbolic Canti of the Divine Comedy.
Lunigiana, in fact, represents the ideal location for a work of this kind, as the "supreme poet" stayed here, as a guest of the Malaspina family, around 1306.
The initiative of the Lunigiana Center for Dante Studies (CLSD) was completed in 2021, on the occasion of the 700th anniversary of Dante's death, thanks to the contribution of the Municipality of Mulazzo.
If you want to discover the village, you can reach it by car by taking the Pontremoli motorway exit and continuing for 7 km along Provincial Road 31.
The village
This territory, inhabited by man since the most remote prehistory, witnessed the bloody clash between the Byzantines and the Lombards in the Early Middle Ages, of which significant clues remain in the toponymy.
The valley acquired considerable historical importance in the 13th century when in 1221 the Marquises Malaspina chose Mulazzo as the capital of their great fiefdom of "Spino Secco". The village of Mulazzo stands around the top of the hill where the first fortified tower was built. The Malaspinas also had a second castle built and the village was equipped with two gates, which still exist today. Next to their castles, the Malaspinas built palaces, tower houses, narrow streets and vaulted passages with a typical medieval appearance.
Over the centuries, the fiefdom tended to break up, giving rise to the autonomous marquisates of Castevoli, Lusuolo, Castagnetoli, Montereggio and Groppoli, while other lands were acquired by the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.
The itinerary
The installation consists of nine metal totems in the shape of Lunigiana Stele Statues which support nine Carrara marble bas-reliefs, created by sculptor Giampietro Paolo Paita. These works, scattered throughout the village from the medieval aqueduct to Dante's Tower, represent the fundamental passages of Dante's Journey in the Divine Comedy, from the famous "dark wood" to the "vision of God".
The panels, equipped with QR codes, allow an immersive experience in augmented reality with insights into Dante's journey in Italian and English.
Via Dantis therefore represents an innovative and different interpretation, not only of the Divine Comedy and of Dante's presence in Lunigiana, but also of the cultural and tourist offer of the village of Mulazzo, one more reason to visit the ancient capital of Spino Secco.
