Carrara, section of 15th century wall of Moneta Castle collapses

In Carrara , part of the walls of the ancient Moneta Castle , which dominates the hill of the same name beside the town, collapsed . The walls, of 15th-century origin like the castle, collapsed due to the heavy rains that have hit upper Tuscany in recent days. The section of wall affected by the collapse had already been declared dangerous on March 16, when a first subsidence occurred, and an alarm was also raised in local newspapers. Some local associations had taken an interest in the castle’s situation: the Apuo-Versiliese section of Italia Nostra, the Pro Loco Fossola-Moneta and the Pro Loco Salviamo il Castello di Moneta.

“The intense rains of the past few days,” the committees said as early as last March 23 in the newspaper Il Tirreno, “have accentuated the landslide risk present on the Apennine mountains. This was confirmed in Moneta, a village with a thousand-year history dominated by a castle built by the Genoese Campofregoso. Lords of Carrara in the mid-15th century, now owned by the municipality. A sector of the walls, in the southern section, threatens to give way.” A significant part of the ancient hamlet of Moneta is privately owned, and the associations last month accused the municipality (which had made an initial inspection) and the owner of “blame-shifting”: the committees’ request was to summon the Superintendence of Lucca and Massa-Carrara to carry out an inspection aimed at drafting a memorandum of understanding between the public and private sectors to save the castle.

Then, on March 21, an ordinance issued by Mayor Serena Arrighi required the owners to submit, within 15 days, a plan for work to secure the southern section of the walls. According to the committees, a shoring of the 15th-century wall segment adjacent to the fortress was needed because it threatened “to collapse at any moment.”

All to no avail, because the day before yesterday, in incessant rain, that very section of wall finally collapsed. The “Let’s Save Moneta Castle” group, however, is not giving up: “there is not too much time to lose,” writes Luigi Giovanelli of the committee on the “Let’s Save Moneta Castle” Facebook group. The landslide, in fact, “could widen and invest part of the Castle”: consequently, the parties involved “cannot afford to waste time.” According to Giovanelli, “it is up to the municipality to find an agreement, a solution together with the private party, because the situation must be resolved. We cannot lose this castle.”

Photo: Save the Moneta Castle

Carrara, section of 15th century wall of Moneta Castle collapses

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.