Sarzana

Sarzana stands in the Magra valley, where routes between Liguria and Tuscany meet. An important stop on the Via Francigena, its medieval community received confirmation of its liberties from Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in 1163. In later centuries the town passed among several competing powers, including Genoa and Florence.

After Florence captured Sarzana in 1487, Lorenzo de' Medici ordered its defences rebuilt. The Firmafede fortress was reconstructed and a new fortress begun at Sarzanello. French intervention in 1494 changed control again; the Genoese Bank of Saint George acquired the town shortly afterwards, and Sarzana later passed to the Republic of Genoa.