Sarzana

Sarzana (Italian: [sarˈdzaːna], Emilian: [sarˈzana]; Ligurian: Sarzann-a) is a town, comune (municipality) and former short-lived Catholic bishopric in the Province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy. It is 15 kilometres (9 mi) east of La Spezia, on the railway to Pisa, at the point where the railway to Parma diverges to the north. In 2010, it had a population of 21,978. The position of Sarzana, at the entrance to the valley of the Magra (ancient Macra), the boundary between Etruria and Liguria in Roman times, gave it military importance in the Middle Ages. The first mention of the city is found in 983 in a diploma of Otto I; in 1202 the episcopal see was transferred from the ancient Luni, 5 kilometres (3 mi) southeast, to Sarzana. Sarzana, owing to its position, changed masters more than once, belonging first to Pisa, then to Florence, then to the Banco di S. Giorgio of Genoa and from 1572 to dogal Genoa itself. A fortress to protect the town stood since at least the tenth century; it was built in its current shape under orders from Lorenzo de' Medici. In 1814 it was assigned to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the frontier between Liguria and Tuscany being now made to run between it and Carrara. In 1921 Sarzana was the scene of fights (Fatti di Sarzana) between the population and Mussolini's Fascist squads. During them, a small group of Carabinieri and, later, simple citizens opposed and pushed back some 300 armed Fascists who had come to devastate the town, resulting in 18 dead and about 30 injured. During the German occupation of Italy in World War II, Sarzana was a centre of partisan resistance.

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Sarzana is it’s a stopover point on The Via Francigena. You can reach Civitas Vaticana - Città del Vaticano in 21 days.