Mulazzo

Last updated: September 25, 2026

Mulazzo is a small town of roughly 2,300 inhabitants that would be a footnote in Lunigiana‘s history if not for two extraordinary stories separated by seven centuries. In 1306, Dante Alighieri — exiled from Florence, wandering the courts of northern Italy — arrived here as a guest of Marquis Franceschino Malaspina, head of the Spino Secco branch of the dynasty that ruled the right bank of the Magra. As Franceschino’s procurator, Dante negotiated the Peace of Castelnuovo, signed on October 6, 1306, which settled the long conflict between the Malaspina and the bishop-count of Luni. He repaid the Malaspina with some of the most generous verses in the Divine Comedy.

Seven centuries later, from a hamlet in Mulazzo’s mountains, a different kind of wanderer emerged. The men of Montereggio — population now under 50 — became Italy’s most famous itinerant booksellers, carrying crates of books on their backs across the peninsula, often including titles banned by church or state. They founded bookshops and publishing houses in cities from Milan to Rome. Their hamlet became the only Italian member of the International Organization of Book Towns. And the literary prize they helped inspire, the Premio Bancarella, first awarded in Pontremoli in 1953, is still voted on by booksellers rather than critics.

A Place Shaped by Time

Mulazzo was the capital of the Malaspina Spino Secco — the “Dry Thorn” branch that received the right bank territories in the great family division of 1221. This is the Dante connection: Franceschino Malaspina of Mulazzo gave the exiled poet shelter and a diplomatic mission. The tower-house where Dante is believed to have stayed now contains the Museo Dantesco Lunigianese (Dantesque Lunigiana Museum), documenting both the poet’s time in the valley and the broader history of the Malaspina Spino Secco.

The Torre di Dante itself — the hexagonal tower visible above the town’s roofline — is Mulazzo’s most distinctive architectural feature. Its six-sided plan is unusual among Lunigiana‘s towers. Only part of it survives, but the hexagonal footprint is immediately recognizable. The tower was part of the Malaspina fortification system; its unusual shape may reflect influences from Crusader-era military architecture brought back by returning knights.

The town center retains fragments of the medieval fabric — stone houses, narrow lanes, the remains of the Malaspina compound — but Mulazzo’s main attraction is its historical resonance rather than its monuments. This is a place you visit because of what happened here, not because of what stands here.

Montereggio, perched in the hills above Mulazzo, is the other story entirely. From the 19th century onward, the men of this tiny hamlet became librai ambulanti — travelling booksellers who loaded wooden crates with books and carried them across Italy, selling from town to town. They dealt in popular literature, almanacs, religious texts, and — crucially — books that were politically or morally censored elsewhere. Several families from Montereggio and the surrounding hamlets went on to establish permanent bookshops and publishing houses; Emanuele Maucci, born in nearby Parana, founded the Casa Editorial Maucci in Barcelona in 1892. The tradition was strong enough that in 1952 the itinerant booksellers of the Pontremoli area, Montereggio’s among them, launched the Premio Bancarella, a literary prize judged by people who actually sold books to readers. It has been awarded in Pontremoli since its first edition in 1953 and has never lost its connection to Montereggio.

Today, Montereggio has fewer than 50 permanent residents. It joined the International Organization of Book Towns — the network that includes Hay-on-Wye in Wales and Redu in Belgium — and hosts an annual Book Festival each August. The hamlet itself is tiny: a church, a handful of stone houses, and the overwhelming quiet of a depopulated mountain village that once sent its ideas across a continent.

What to See and Do

In Mulazzo, the Museo Dantesco Lunigianese (Casa di Dante) inside the 13th-century tower-house is the main cultural visit. It is small but focused, connecting Dante’s exile to the geography and politics of early 14th-century Lunigiana. There are no regular hours: visits are by appointment through the Centro Lunigianese di Studi Danteschi.

The Torre di Dante is visible from the town center — the hexagonal footprint is best appreciated from the street below. Walk the narrow streets around the former Malaspina compound to get a sense of the medieval layout.

Montereggio requires a drive up a narrow, winding mountain road — about 15–20 minutes from Mulazzo center. The hamlet is best visited during the August Book Festival, when temporary bookshops fill the tiny streets and readings take place in the church and piazza. Outside festival season, Montereggio is extremely quiet but still worth the drive for the views, the atmosphere of a near-empty mountain village, and the church where the booksellers’ story is commemorated.

The surrounding hills offer walking opportunities through chestnut forests — the raw material for the DOP chestnut flour that connects every village in this valley.

Eating Like a Local

Mulazzo is small enough that restaurant options are limited — the standard Lunigianese repertoire (testaroli, torta d’erbi, chestnut preparations) is served in the town’s trattorie and in agriturismi scattered through the surrounding hamlets. Pontremoli, twenty minutes north, offers a wider selection including the Caffè degli Svizzeri and its Amor pastries.

The chestnut harvest in autumn brings the raw material for castagnaccio, necci, and the full repertoire of chestnut-flour cooking — look for it in October especially, when the local castagnate (chestnut roasting festivals) fill the calendar.

Getting There and Getting Around

By car: From the A15 motorway, exit at Pontremoli and follow signs south toward Mulazzo — about 15 minutes. Alternatively, exit at Aulla and head north — about 25 minutes. For Montereggio, follow signage from Mulazzo center up the mountain road.

By train/bus: No direct train service. The nearest stations are Pontremoli and Villafranca-Bagnone on the Pontremolese line. Bus services exist but are very limited. A car is effectively required.

Timing: Mulazzo center takes about an hour to walk, including the museum. Add another hour for the drive to Montereggio and a walk through the hamlet. During the Book Festival (August), plan a half day for Montereggio alone.

Nearby

Pontremoli — The stele museum, Baroque palaces, Caffè degli Svizzeri, and the Premio Bancarella (which began in Montereggio). Twenty minutes north.

Filattiera — The Pieve di Sorano and Via Francigena stage. Fifteen minutes south.

Villafranca — The Ethnographic Museum and Filetto walled village. Twenty minutes south.

Bagnone — The fairy-tale borgo with the Bandiera Arancione. Twenty minutes southeast.

Cisa Pass — The Via Francigena crossing into Emilia-Romagna. Thirty minutes northeast via Pontremoli.

Information is provided in good faith and may change. Always confirm opening hours, prices, and event dates with the official source before you travel.