Fortezza della Brunella Museo di Storia Naturale della Lunigiana

I visited the fortress with the group BUTTERFLIES IN WALK who told us the history of the fortress and not the natural history museum. It was a very interesting visit.

The Brunella Fortress is inserted in a characteristic Lunigiana landscape. 5 minutes from the center of Aulla gives the opportunity to get away and live in the countryside !!!! Recommended!!!!

Small but very beautiful museum, lovingly cared for by volunteers. It tells the story of an English family, he a painter, she a journalist who settled in the fortress at the beginning of the 20th century, buying and restoring it with his own hands. Everything exudes the love of the English gentlemen for that place, which was then given by the children to the Italian state. Volunteer guide is a very kind and prepared lady. To visit.

The fortress of Brunella is surrounded by a botanical park that currently houses the Museum of Natural History of Lunigiana. The Fortress of Brunella, is located in a formidable defensive position dominating Aulla, between the Aulella stream, the Magra river and the paths of the Via Francigena in an important point between the Lunense coast and the Apennine passes. The original nucleus is presumed to date back to the 13th century, but there are hypotheses concerning renovations dating back to the end of the 15th century by the then lord of Aulla Jacopo Ambrogio Malaspina, other modifications of the fortress were made by Giovanni delle Bande Nere, who settled in Aulla in the first quarter of the sixteenth century, which would have entrusted the project to Antonio da Sangallo the Elder. Even Adam Centurion, a Genoese businessman, made changes when he became the owner of the fiefdom of Aulla in 1543. The fortified complex represents an important concentration on a defensive level between built structures and the rock spur on these arise. It represents the most efficient military structure erected on the Lunigiana territory. The quadrangular construction is in fact characterized by purely military architectural choices typical of the fifteenth century. An imposing outer wall characterized by a large shoe and large corner struts surrounds the compact central keep. The drawbridge today is a fixed passage made of bricks, through a long corridor it leads into a courtyard that divides the building diametrically. The ground floor is divided into a series of rooms covered by vaults of different sizes and preserves large stone fireplaces. Between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the fortress of Aulla suffered the siege of the Gallo-Hispans who led to its occupation for four years after which it returned to the Marquis of Podenzana. Around 1860, the fortress was sold to the Waterfield family who made some changes to use it as a residence and then it was restored and turned into a museum!

I went to my house???? Splendid fortress recently reopened to the public thanks to a cooperative of young volunteers who accompany tourists. Thanks for the opportunity .... good ??

The fortress can be reached through a dirt road with hairpin bends that is not very comfortable if you travel it by car, but also on foot. Some mountain bike trails have been created around it. Once you enter the building, you have to go through a narrow corridor to reach the ticket office or a table on the ground floor of the residence. In fact, the fortress was bought by an English family who transformed it into a residence by making architectural changes to the original structure. The ground floor houses a small museum of the natural history of the area. Upstairs a small photographic exhibition dedicated to the English family. Neglect is what is most striking. Many parts are unusable, there are detached plaster, windows that are miraculously together, crumbling balconies. The garden is left to itself and what used to be the hanging garden completely eliminated. From the roof you can admire the surrounding area at 360 °, with a view from above of Aulla. You can see the Podenzana castle and the tower of the Tresana castle. The greatest wonder remain the Apuan Alps. The admission ticket for non-resident adults and children over 6 years is € 3.5, reduced € 2. You can enter alone or accompanied by the caretaker who gladly answers all questions. You can also visit the powder magazine and the moat.

Guided tour of the Brunella fortress in Aulla Impressive military construction.