Luni, Italy
Luni | |
|---|---|
| Comune di Luni | |
 View of Luni Mare with Ortonovo and Nicola in the background. | |
 Coat of arms | |
Location of Luni  | |
  Luni Location of Luni in Italy  Luni Luni (Liguria) | |
| Coordinates:44°05′05.43″N10°02′31.3″E/ 44.0848417°N 10.042028°E | |
| Country | Italy |
| Region | Liguria |
| Province | La Spezia(SP) |
| Frazioni | Annunziata, Caffaggiola, Casano (communal seat), Dogana, Isola, Luni Scavi, Luni Mare, Luni Stazione, Nicola, Ortonovo, Serravalle |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Alessandro Silvestri |
| Area | |
| • Total | 13.86 km2(5.35 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 76 m (249 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2015)[2] | |
| • Total | 8,277 |
| • Density | 600/km2(1,500/sq mi) |
| Demonym | OrtonovesiorLunensi |
| Time zone | UTC+1(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2(CEST) |
| Postal code | 19034 |
| Dialing code | 0187 |
| Patron saint | Madonna del Mirteto |
| Saint day | 8 September |
| Website | Official website |
Luniis acomune(municipality) in theprovince of La Spezia,in the easternmost end of theLiguriaregion of northernItaly.It was founded by the Romans asLuna.It gives its name toLunigiana,a region spanning eastern Liguria and northernTuscany(province of Massa-Carrara).
The commune was known asOrtonovo(from the name of one of its currentfrazioni) until April 2017. It is now named after thefrazioneof Luni.
Geography
[edit]Located in a plain near theTyrrhenian Seaand close to the borders withTuscany,Luni is crossed by the riverMagraand lies betweenSarzana(7 km in north) andCarrara(5 km in south). It is 4 km far fromOrtonovo,15 km fromMassaand 30 km fromLa Spezia.The village is served by National Highway 1 "Aurelia", crossed at Luni Mare by theA12 motorwayand counts a railway station on thePisa-Genoa line.
History
[edit]Classical Period
[edit]Luna was the frontier town ofEtruria,on the left bank of the river Macra (nowMagra), the boundary in imperial times between Etruria andLiguria.[a] When theRomansfirst appeared in these parts, Etruscans and the Ligurians were already in possession of the territory.[4](41.13.4)
The Roman city was established in 177 BC by Publius Aelius, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Gnaeus Sicinius[4](41.13.4)[b] It was a military stronghold for the campaigns against theLigures.An inscription of 155 BC, found in theforumof Luna in 1851, was dedicated toM. Claudius Marcellusin honor of his triumph over the Ligurians andApuani.In 109 BC it was connected toRomeby theVia Aemilia Scauri,rebuilt in the 2nd century AD as theVia Aurelia.It flourished when exploitation of white marble quarries in the nearbyAlpi Apuaneand neighboring mountains ofCarrara,whose stone bore the name of "Luna marble" in ancient times.[5]Plinyspeaks of the quarries as only recently discovered in his day; they were soon owned by the imperial family.Pliny the Elderconsidered the big wheels of cheese from Luna the best inEtruria.Goodwinewas also produced.
Ancient harbour
[edit]Luni derived its importance mainly from its harbour,[6][3]which was on a gulf of theTyrrhenian Seanow known as theGulf of La Spezia,and not merely the estuary of the Magra as some authors supposed.[3][full citation needed][7][full citation needed]While the town was apparently not established until 177 BC,[4](41.13.4)when a colony of 2,000 Roman citizens was founded there, the harbour is mentioned byEnnius,who sailed from there toSardiniain 215 BC underManlius Torquatus.It was also being contested by the Romans as early as 195 BC, when they were fighting the Ligurians and Apuans in the area.[8]The site was used as a base for the quarrying of marble from the quarries of modern-dayCarrara,[3]as the marble in that quarry is fine, and the harbour allowed the marble to be shipped to Rome easily.[3][9]
Late antiquity
[edit]
In the 5th century, it was still notable, as it was chosen as the seat of abishopric.Captured by the Goths in the following century, it was reconquered by theByzantinesin 552, who however lost it to theLombardsin 642. The latter damaged the city's economy, favouring the trades routes that passed through the nearby port ofLuccato the south. Luni had been reduced to a small village by the time of the Lombard kingLiutprand.Later, it was a countship and see underCharlemagne,exactly on the border between theKingdom of Italyand thePapal States.
Middle Ages
[edit]It was repeatedly sacked by sea pirates,Saracensin 849, andVikingswho settled there in 860.[10]Luna is supposed to have been mistakenly sacked by the Viking leaderBjörn Järnsida,who thought it wasRome.He tricked his way in by pretending to be a dying Christian convert. The 9th century BishopSaint Ceccardo,believed to have been martyred by the Vikings, is celebrated on 16 June.[11][12]
In the mid-10th century it experienced the last period of splendour under countOberto I,who was lord of the wholeLigurian Mark,and momentarily repulsed the pirate threat. However, in the 990s the situation worsened again, and the episcopal see was moved, first toCarrarathen, definitively, toSarzanain 1207 (or 1204). In 1015 Luna was conquered by the Andalusianemir of Denia,Mujāhid,with his Sardinian ships: WhenPisa and Genoa beat back his forces,Luni was left destroyed. The spreading of malaria in the area and the silting up of the port contributed to the steep decline of Luni. In 1058 the whole population moved to Sarzana, while other refugees foundedOrtonovoand Nicola. The title of bishop and count of Luni remained in use for various centuries, butPetrarchnoted Luni as "once famous and powerful, and now only a naked and useless name".
It was only in 1442 that the highly visible remains were identified with Luni and theGulf of La Speziarecognized as its harbour.[14]The depredation of the Roman ruins of Luni aroused the concern of the local Cardinal Filippo Calandrini, who urged the Humanist popePius IIto issue a brief (7 April 1461) forbidding any further dilapidations. It was of little practical use: When the Palazzo del Commune of Sarzana was constructed in 1471 dressed stone from Luni supplied a considerable part of the building material.[13](p 112)In 1510 the city council of Sarzana made a gift to the French governor at Genoa of a marble triton found at Luni.[13](p 114)
Archaeological excavations
[edit]
Luni was excavated in the 1970s and many of the material brought to light is now housed in the adjacent museum (44°03′50″N10°01′01″E/ 44.064°N 10.017°E). Archeological evidence suggests that the Roman forum had been abandoned as a public space by the end of the sixth century CE, its buildings fell to ruin or were demolished and decorative marbles removed. Remains of small wooden houses were found in the space previously occupied by the forum.[15]
Atheatreand anamphitheatremay still be distinguished on the site. NoEtruscanremains have come to light. Cuntz's investigations[16][full citation needed]seem to lead to the conclusion that an ancient road crossed theApenninesfrom it, following the line of the modern road (more or less that of the modernrailwayfromSarzanatoParma), and dividing nearPontremoli,one branch going toBorgotaro,VeleiaandPlacentia,and the other over theCisa passto Forum Novum (Fornovo) andParma.
Main sights
[edit]- Remains of the elliptical Romanamphitheatre(1st century AD)
- Roman era artifacts are displayed the Luni Archaeological Museum[17]
- Sanctuary of Nostra Signora del Mirteto, at Ortonovo, consecrated in 1566
- Torre di Guinigi, a medieval tower in Ortonovo
- Castle of Volpiglione, located betweenCastelpoggioand Ortonovo, dating from the 11th-12th centuries.
- Castle of Nicola (13th-15th century)
- 19th century municipal building, at Casano
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011".Italian National Institute of Statistics.Retrieved16 March2019.
- ^"Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018".Italian National Institute of Statistics.Retrieved16 March2019.
- ^abcdeStrabo 5.2.5
- ^abcdLivy.Ab Urbe Condita[Since the Founding of the City (of Rome)] (in Latin).
- ^Kleiner, Diana E.E.The Ascent of Augustus and Access to Italian Marble(Multimedia presentation). Yale University.
- ^Pliny.Natural History.3.8.
- ^1911Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^Livy (A.U.C.)[4]34.8.4-5, 34.56.1-2, 39.21.1-5, 39.32.1-3
- ^von der Haegen, Anne Mueller; Strasser, Ruth F. (2013). "The white gold of the Apuan Alps".Art & Architecture: Tuscany.Potsdam: H.F. Ullmann Publishing. p. 39.ISBN978-3-8480-0321-1.
- ^Celesia, E. (1847),[no title cited]
- ^"San Ceccardo di Luni".Santi beats e testimoni.Retrieved7 November2018.
- ^"Ceccardus of Luni".CatholicSaints.Retrieved7 November2018.
- ^abcWeiss, Roberto (1969).The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity.Oxford, UK: Blackwell. pp. 111–114.
- ^Bracelli, Giacomo.Descriptio orae ligusticae.cited in Weiss (1969).[13](p 111)
- ^Ward-Perkins, B.(1997). "Continuitists, catastrophists, and the towns of post-Roman Northern Italy".Papers of the British School at Rome.65:157–176.
- ^Cuntz (1904). "[no title cited]".Jahreshefte des Osterreich Arch. Instituts.46.
- ^"Luni National Archaeological Museum".luni.beniculturali.it(official site) (in Italian).
Sources
[edit]- This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Luna".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 17 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 123.That, in turn, citesDennis, G.(1883).Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria.London, UK. ii. 63. (T. As.).
{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
External links
[edit]
- "Comune di Luni".comune.luni.sp.it(official site) (in Italian).
- "Luni National Archaeological Museum".luni.beniculturali.it(official site) (in Italian).
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