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Sarzana |
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The
origin of the name "Sarzana" is unclear; some
local historians in XV century write about Serrazzana and about
"Sergianum", a Roman settler from the family Sergia.
The name Sarzana appears for the first time in a diploma by Emperor
Otto I, dated 19th of May 963, that assigns the Castrum Sarzanae
to the bishop of Luni. Such a "castrum", or stronghold,
was located in the place now occupied by the "Sarzanello
fortress", also known as the "Castracani castle",
and was of vital importance to control the roads along the valley.
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The
first documents speaking of Sarzana as of a real town are dated
about year 1000; in that period the inhabitants of the nearby
Luni were moving away from their town, which was no longer a port
(as it used to be in Roman times) and was plagued by the malaria.
It seems that early Sarzana was divided in two part, whose inhabitants
were respectively called "illi de Burgo" (i.e. those
from the town) and "illi de Caracandula"(i.e. those
from the old river Calcandola, which used to be near what is now
Piazza Matteotti).
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In
1204 Bishop Gualtiero II moved its see from Luni to Sarzana; as
a consequence Sarzana acquired an independent status that was
maintained until nearby masters seized the town. However, when
Gualtiero II died a period of instability ensued, as Sarzana citizens
refused to swear fidelity to the new bishop Marzucco; in 1219
they signed an agreement to repudiate him, seeking alliance with
Pisa. At the beginning, this alliance scored a series of successes
and the "Pisani" (Pisans) even managed to capture the
Archbishop Guglielmo. Then, Pisa's fortunes declined.
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After
being defeated by an alliance among Lucca, Genoa and Florence,
Pisa was forced to give up Sarzana to the bishop Guglielmo; his
successor Enrico da Fucecchio, though, was again expelled from
the town and repaired to Lunigiana. Only after the intervention
of pope Bonifacio VIII the ecclesiastical power was re-established,
and Sarzana had to bend to Enrico's successor, Antonio Nuvolone
da Camilla. After the imperial domination by Henry VII, Bishop
Gerardino Malaspina nominated Castruccio Castracani viscount of
Sarzana, who kept the power until his death, in 1328. After that,
Sarzana was again under the influence of Pisa and of other towns,
to finally be ruled by the Genuese (1438).
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In
1465 Pope Paolo II granted to Sarzana the status of "city",
with the assent of Emperor Federico III. On this occasion the town's
arms were changed: a crescent and the motto "Sigillum Civitatis
Sarzane" (Seal of the City of Sarzana) were added to a shield
and an 8-spike star, already present in the arms. In 1487 Florence
and the Repubblica di Genoa clashed in a ruthless war that lead,
after a long siege, to the fall of Sarzana; the Firmafede fortress
was almost completely destroyed and so was most of the town.
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Lorenzo
il Magnifico from Florence, new master of Sarzana, ordered the construction
of the Cittadella, the castle standing at the northwest end of the
town. After many other wars Sarzana was again under the rule of
the Genuese, and so it remained for almost two centuries. During
the Franco-German war the town was razed to the ground, while the
inhabitants had to move to the countryside; in particular, many
of them moved to an area called Pian Paganella, which was renamed
Sarzanello, in memory of the destroyed town. In 1797 Sarzana became
part of the Repubblica Ligure, and then was annexed to the Regno
di Sardegna. Later, in the XIX century, Sarzana actively participated
in the Risorgimento, the movement for independence and reunification
of Italy.
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