Malaspina Castle

It crowns the top of a rocky hill and dominates the wide underlying plain and part of the Tyrrhenian coast.

From the 17th century the main purpose of the castle was military and it served as a prison until 1946.

[1] In 1269 because of political discords with local inhabitants it was leveled to the ground by the army of the nearby city of Lucca.

[1] It was visited by Dante Alighieri, who supposedly envisioned the descending circles of Hell, that inspired the corresponding part of his Divine Comedy.

[2] According to legend, Dante saw the great funnel-shaped cave lying below, surrounded by a series of ledges with the slopes converging to the stream.