Fosdinovo Castle

Castello Malaspina di Fosdinovo dates to the second half of the 12th century and rises in northern Tuscany, between the Apuan Alps and the Tyrrhenian coast. Records of its existence trace back to 1124, when it was a fief of the Erberia family under the bishop-counts of Luni, until 1317, when Spinetta Malaspina took possession of the castle. In the early 14th century, the Malaspina moved their family seat here from the nearby castle of Verrucola di Fivizzano.

Today the castle functions as a museum, a cultural center dedicated to the production and dissemination of contemporary art, a retreat for artists and writers, and houses a small bed and breakfast. The property remains in the hands of the Marquises Torrigiani-Malaspina. All the rooms are furnished with antiques, with views of the medieval village or the valley, and some feature Carrara-marble bathrooms.

The Malaspina family's continuous ownership from the early 14th century to the present, through the Torrigiani-Malaspina line, gives Fosdinovo one of the longest unbroken family tenures documented in this entire Italian collection.

The castle's dual identity as both an active museum and cultural center, alongside its small overnight accommodation, sets Fosdinovo apart from the large majority of castle-hotels in this collection, where the historic building functions primarily or exclusively as a hotel.

The artist and writer retreat program connects Fosdinovo to a specifically contemporary cultural mission, distinct from the more historically focused winery or heritage-tourism identities of most other properties here.

The surrounding Lunigiana region, the Cinque Terre, and the marble quarries of Carrara give guests staying at Fosdinovo access to a distinctive stretch of the Tuscan coast and its hinterland, less commonly featured than the Chianti or Val d'Orcia.