A Day in Aulla

Itinerary created by

James Martin

What you’ll do

A day in a Lunigiana city that may surprise you, from Saints, pilgrims and bombs to a dark, forboding fortress with a view that's now the natural history museum

Aulla has some surprises, despite the fact that few have heard of it. First of all, it's pretty modern. Why is that? Well, Allied forces bombed it pretty much to smithereens during the war. One of the bombs hit the apse of the church where a saint was buried--and it was a dud. So there's that. Archaeological investigations (which you can see) lead to the discovery of the bomb and its eventual removal to be set off in a safe environment.

What does that mean? Well, compared to those other medieval villages you've puttered about in, this one has real parking. Lots of it. And more people actually manage to get their cars in between the lines! And there are wide sidewalks. Honestly, you don't have to press your timorous body against a crumbling 12th century wall when the inevitable SUV comes rambling towards you down the narrow strip identified on the map as a street.

So let's get to it. First we'll check into our apartment, and then we'll see the archaeology in that apse and learn all about pilgrimage in the 10th-13th centuries.

Aulla

Lunigiana City & Fortress

Category

Sightseeing

Direction

847 m (0.5 mi)

1 min

Just down the street from our apartment is this inexpensive yet highly thought of 1 bedroom apartment in a good position in town. If you like the price and want a kitchen, this is ideal.

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Via Resistenza, 56

Vacation Apartment in Aulla

Category

Hotel

Direction

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228 m (0.1 mi)

If you're looking for a hotel, the Demy is just about the only thing going in this town.

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Demy Hotel, Aulla

Upscale cuisine & hospitality

Category

Hotel

Est. Price

€100

Direction

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1.1 km (0.7 mi)

2 min

Now you're ready for a stroll about town and a coffee and pastry. Let's head on over to one in the historic part of town, the Bar Giardino.

Bar Giardino

Regional wine, craft beer, and a garden setting

Category

Bar

Direction

504 m (0.3 mi)

1 min

When it's time for lunch, do what the Italians do and have your big meal of the day in what I consider Aulla's best restaurant.

Ristorante per ... Bacco

The old center of Aulla

Category

Restaurant

Est. Price

€35

Direction

2.2 km (1.4 mi)

6 min

Now that you're really full, It might be time to take a hike up to the Brunella Fortress to work some of the calories off and get the overview of the city and the two rivers the city is nestled between.

Fortezza della Brunella

A Fortress, now a natural history museum

Category

Sightseeing

Direction

2 km (1.2 mi)

5 min

Are you ready for more? Here's a visit to the Parish church of San Caprasio to have a peek in the apse for the state of the archeology there, and then next door to the Museo di San Caprasio where you'll learn pilgrimage in the Lunigiana along the "Frankish route" called Via Francigena.