Aulla

Aulla
Comune
Comune di Aulla
Panorama of Aulla

Coat of arms
Aulla
Location of Aulla in Italy
Coordinates: 44°13′N 09°58′E / 44.217°N 9.967°E / 44.217; 9.967
Country Italy
Region Tuscany
Province Massa and Carrara
Government
 • Mayor Roberto Valettini
Area
 • Total 5,999 km2 (2,316 sq mi)
Elevation 64 m (210 ft)
Population (30 June 2017)
 • Total 11,065
 • Density 1.8/km2 (4.8/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Aullesi
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 54011
Dialing code 0187
Patron saint St. Caprasius
Website Official website

Aulla is a comune in the province of Massa and Carrara, Tuscany, central Italy.

History

The walls of the Brunella Fortress above Aulla.

Traces of Roman and Etruscan civilizations found in the Church of Saint Caprisio indicate that there were settlements in Aulla long before the 8th century CE, when margrave Adalbert I of Tuscany founded a village and built a castle to accommodate pilgrims traveling the via Francigena.[1] Here, at Aguilla Sigeric, Archbishop of Canterbury, sojourned on his return journey from Rome about 990.[2] The Malaspina family wrested feudal power of the city and its contada from the domination of the bishops and dukes of Luni. In 1543 the Centurione family purchased it. They built the Brunella Fortress, which was bought in the early 20th century by Aubrey and Lina Waterfield, and remains privately owned, functioning as a museum of natural history for the Lunigiana region. One of the most important buildings of the town is the Abbey of San Caprasio that was founded in the 8th Century and was named by Saint Caprasius of Lérin, whose body was transferred to Aulla in the 10th century.

In 1943 the historic center of Aulla was destroyed by Anglo-American bombings aimed at German troops stationed there during the Second World War. By the end of the war large sections of the city were obliterated by Anglo-American bombings which sought to destroy the towns key railroad network and gunpower manufacturing plant. A replica of an unexploded bomb is preserved in the Abbey of San Caprasio. In April 1945 the 442nd Infantry Regiment (United States), aided by a significantly strong Italian partisan fighting force, liberated the city of Aulla, after fierce battles with retreating German troops.

Twin towns

References

  1. ↑ Geo Pistarino, Una fonte medievale falsa e il suo presunto autore (University of Genoa, 1958) demonstrated in detail that the notorious "cartulary of Aulla", supposedly drawn up at the end of the thirteenth century, was in fact a forgery by Alfonso Ceccarelli, who was executed for other forgeries in 1583.
  2. ↑ F. P. Magoun, Jr., "The Italian Itinerary of Philip II (Philippe-Auguste) in the Year 1191" Speculum 17.3 (July 1942;367-376) p. 373. Magoun notes that Philip Augustus of France may have stopped here on his more leisurely northward journey in 1191, but the possibly corresponding entry in his itinerary is unclear.


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