Carrara, a new crack runs through the history of Moneta Castle. In fact, from the hill overlooking the town comes another warning sign: the walls of the Moneta village church, just below the ancient fortress, are cracking. Giving news of this is an article by journalist Giovanna Mezzana published in the newspaper Il Tirreno last August 27. That of the Moneta Castle is, unfortunately, a fate that is being consumed under the eyes of those who, for months, have been denouncing the risk of losing forever a fundamental piece of the town’s history. The landslide of April 18, which devoured sixteen meters of the fifteenth-century wall, has remained unresolved at the moment: earth and stones continue to block the municipal road, cutting the connection between Via di Moneta and Via Forestale.
A suspended landscape, where nature and abandonment intertwine. The castle, attested as early as 1045 and rebuilt by the Genoese Campofregoso in the 15th century, today, says Mezzana, “is on the edge of a precipice.” The appeal of the Pro Loco “Let’s Save the Castle of Moneta,” which has long pointed out the gravity of the situation, remains unheeded to date.
Indeed, the wait for intervention is blocked by the standoff between the owners of the land affected by the landslide and part of the village of Moneta and the municipality, which instead owns the castle. The associations have been hoping for a long time, even before the landslide last April, for an agreement between the public and private sectors, but it has been slow in coming. And now, according to Mezzana, given the ongoing litigation, it will probably only be a court that can settle the matter.
The castle, however, cannot wait for the time of justice, and the uncertainty increases residents’ fears. Carrara’s 5 Star Movement, back in June, denounced the administration’s inaction: “Despite the severity of the damage and the obvious danger, the castle still lies in a state of neglect, and the silence of the municipal administration raises growing concerns,” said Giovanni Montesarchio, a civil engineer and former Pentastellated city councilor. "The precipitated stone blocks and injuries to the structure are not only an aesthetic damage, but represent a real threat to the safety of the hamlet of Fossola and an outrage to the historical and cultural heritage. One would think that when faced with an asset of such importance the reaction of institutions would be swift, but two months have passed without a single concrete step toward securing it or a recovery plan. Citizens watch the degradation with discouragement. Not only is there no record of restoration work, but the total absence of clear communication from the municipality is worrying. There are no more reports of inspections or feasibility studies. All is silent. What are the real intentions of the city administration regarding Moneta Castle? Is this jewel of our history destined to be left at the mercy of events until it inexorably crumbles? The lack of clear perspectives on an asset of such importance is unacceptable.
The new fears now concern the ancient church located under the castle tower. The ruins, which are overgrown with ivy, are beginning to show signs of subsidence. Debris is already beginning to slide into the vineyard below, endangering the rows of vines, but the most serious danger is that it could landslide onto the municipal road, the only passageway to Moneta, or even downstream, where other homes stand. Not to mention, then, that they jeopardize the very hold of the monument. This is why the Ratti brothers, the owners of the private part, have asked for a meeting with Mayor Serena Arrighi, worried that the deterioration could turn into an emergency.
Then there is the strong interest of local associations, which have been insisting for years on the need for shared action. Italia Nostra Apuo-lunense and the Pro Loco “Salviamo il Castello di Moneta” convened a round table at Palazzo Binelli on July 24, involving the municipality and the Superintendency. The goal is to move from interlocutions to a concrete plan, to save a village that for centuries played a privileged role in the system of Carraresi villages, with its own statutes and consuls. It is no longer time for procrastination: without action, we risk losing an indispensable fragment of Carrara’s history.
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| Carrara, Moneta Castle in danger of disappearing: new signs of subsidence |
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