Our journey begins in Pozzo, in the municipality of Mulazzo, on the right side of the Magra River. This small, aristocratic village developed around the mid-sixteenth century, following the bequest of Moroello Malaspina of Mulazzo to his sons, and is now characterized by primitive door and window architraves replaced with more modern ones, but also made of stone and enhanced by coats of arms and decorations from the 17th and 18th centuries. Also in the lands of Mulazzo, is Castagnetoli, an ancient self-governing seat of the marquisate that fell under the ownership of the Marquises Corsini, who became masters of Giovagallo. Two continuous compact centers can still be seen today: one in a northerly direction, gravitating around the square of the marquis’s palace, and another in a southerly direction that runs on parallel streets, in tunnels for much of its course and with few cross-connections.
Crossing the Magra River and arriving in the municipality of Filattiera, we come across Caprio di Sopra, a mixed village with more recent architectural and urbanistic expressions: here, the streets are more spacious and the tunnels have a considerable length and height. There is no shortage of refined architectural elements, like architraves, fountains, interior and exterior gardens, as well as crossed, segmental, buttressed and blind arches.
Moving south, we reach the Taverone Valley and the municipality of Comano. On the right side of the torrent, we encounter Cattognano, a village nestled in the countryside with arcades and barrel arches attached to the walls by a curb, parts of medieval walls, wash houses and an imposing entrance gate.
Going up the road, we enter the municipality of Licciana Nardi with the village of Tavernelle that winds along a single street with mostly 15th-century buildings looking out onto it and characterized by portals and vaulted passageways, tunnels, windows and sandstone steps. Walking further uphill we reach the village of Taponecco, on the slopes of the Apennines, internally structured in a tunnel and enriched by arches, vaults, distinctive pillars, flat cornices and airy tunnel crossings. Lastly, climbing further, our journey ends in Apella, the birthplace of the Risorgimento hero to whom Licciana owes its name: Anacarsi Nardi. The village welcomes us with its tower, standing in a dominant position, and invites us to walk along a dense network of steep roads with paved ground, interrupted at times by corner junctions that remind us, step after step, of how marvelous it is to walk through stone villages, noticing new details with centuries of history and sometimes looking upwards to try to catch a glimpse of the sky between one tunnel and another.
