Anywhere Italy
00 Pontremoli
Stemma di Pontremoli

Tuscany · Massa-Carrara

Pontremoli

The capital of Lunigiana at the confluence of the Magra and Verde, holding the prehistoric stele statues and the oldest book prize in Italy.

Best time
Apr–Oct
By car
1 h 21 min from Parma
By train
Station in the comune
Population
6,891

Known for

  • STATUE STELE

    Anthropomorphic sandstone figures of the Copper and Iron Ages, unique to Lunigiana, displayed in the Castello del Piagnaro.

  • PREMIO BANCARELLA

    Italy's oldest literary prize voted by traveling booksellers, awarded in town every July since 1953.

  • TESTAROLI

    Cast-iron-baked flatbread cut into diamonds, eaten with pesto or oil, the signature plate of the Lunigiana.

  • TOSCANO

    The commune also lies inside the Toscano IGP production zone.

When to visit

Best · Apr–Oct

  • J10°
  • F12°
  • M14°
  • A17°
  • M20°
  • J25°
  • J28°
  • A29°
  • S24°
  • O19°
  • N15°
  • D11°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: Geminiano di Modena, 31 January

Why come

Pontremoli sits where the Magra and the Verde meet, the northern gate of Tuscany and the historic capital of Lunigiana. The Via Francigena crossed here on the descent from the Cisa pass, which is why the town's medieval bridges, the Ponte della Cresa and the Ponte del Casotto, still carry pilgrim traffic eight centuries later. The Castello del Piagnaro above the centro storico holds the Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi: anthropomorphic sandstone figures carved between 3000 and 200 BC, eighty of them recovered from the surrounding hills, unique to this corner of Italy.

The Bancarella Prize, awarded by the town's traveling booksellers since 1953, made Pontremoli the only Italian commune where a literary prize was founded by the people who actually sell books rather than write them. The local plate is testaroli, a Ligurian-Lunigiana flatbread cut into diamonds and eaten with pesto or olive oil.

The Sunday letter

Pontremoli is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Pontremoli comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Pontremoli in our articles

How to get there

From Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 33m by car.

Genoa (GOA) is about 1h 51m away.

By car from the centre of Parma 1h 21m or Pisa 1h 24m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Pisa, Genoa or Florence?

Coming by train into Parma? Pontremoli is about 1h 19m away by road.

Every town within reach of Florence / Pisa airport.

Pontremoli, photo 1
Pontremoli, photo 2

What to see

  • Castello del Piagnaro

    Tenth-century fortress on the hill above town, named for the slate roof tiles (piagne), housing the Museo delle Statue Stele.

  • Museo delle Statue Stele Lunigianesi

    Eighty anthropomorphic stone figures carved between 3000 and 200 BC, the densest concentration of Copper Age stele in Europe.

  • Concattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta

    Seventeenth-century baroque cathedral with a single nave and a domed presbytery, on Piazza del Duomo.

  • Ponte della Cresa

    Medieval stone bridge over the Magra, part of the Via Francigena crossing through the centro storico.

  • Centro storico

    Long narrow town squeezed between the two rivers, with porticoed Piazza della Repubblica at its center.

  • Chiesa di Nostra Donna

    Octagonal eighteenth-century church on Piazza della Repubblica, with a stucco interior.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Pontremoli fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Signature dish

TestaroliPasta

An ancient flatbread-pasta cooked in cast-iron testi, cut into diamonds and dressed with pesto; Pontremoli is its Lunigiana home.

See every town in our catalogue with a dish of its own.

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 6,891
  • In-betweeni
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Florence / Pisa, 1 h 33 min drive
  • Regional capital Firenze, 2 h 10 min drive

Common questions

What is Pontremoli known for?
Pontremoli is the capital of Lunigiana at the confluence of the Magra and Verde, holding the prehistoric stele statues and the oldest book prize in Italy.
Where is Pontremoli?
Pontremoli is a comune in the province of Massa-Carrara, in Tuscany, at 236 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Pontremoli?
Florence / Pisa (PSA), about 1h 33m by car.
Can you get to Pontremoli without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Parma to Pontremoli?
About 1h 21m by car.
When is the best time to visit Pontremoli?
Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 18 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Pontremoli?
Yes. Medievalis a Pontremoli. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Pontremoli?
Massa Marittima, Chiusi and Poppi.
How many people live in Pontremoli?
6,891 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 236 m
  • Population: 6,891
  • Surface area: 182.48 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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