Retignano
in Retignano, ItalyCategory: Attraction
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Via XI Febbraio, 55040 Retignano LU, Italy Print route »
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Retignano is a village of about 400 inhabitants, located on a hill in the historical Versilia, a northern area of the Italian region of Tuscany, in the municipality of Stazzema, about 430 meters above sea level. The inhabitants are called Retignanesi.
At first it was a small settlement belonging to the Liguri Apuani, a small community coming from northern Europe. It then fell into the Roman Empire in the year 177 BCE, becoming one of the most flourishing and developed Roman settlements in the area, on the Apuan Alps. It was mainly used as a hideout, in the event of an imminent attack from the sea, since it was a known stronghold of sighting of the enemies coming from the sea and strategic point of supply of timber, various extractive materials and marble. After a period of independence in the guise of “little municipality”, which lasted several centuries, in 1776 the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo subtracted this title from the village, subjecting it to the dominion of Lucca, whose province Retignano is now part of. Retignano returned to prosper in the second half of the nineteenth century thanks to the opening of the marble quarries, mining sites of the prized "bardiglio fiorito", appreciated especially by the English, the same financiers of the project.
In the period between the two world wars, the village experienced rapid depopulation, caused by emigration to large cities or to foreign countries, particularly North America or Argentina. Besieged by the Germans and exploited for its enviable position, it was then "reconquered" by the American soldiers who placed one of their main bases during the advancement phase at the Gothic Line.
