Property for Sale in Mulazzo, Tuscany
Mulazzo is a hill comune on the western side of the Magra valley in Lunigiana, the far northern corner of the Province of Massa-Carrara. It is made up of a historic village and a scattering of hamlets in wooded hills, and offers stone houses and country homes at prices well within reach of most buyers.
The Village and Its History
Mulazzo was for centuries a seat of the Malaspina family, the marquises who ruled much of Lunigiana, and the village still has the ruins of their castle and a stone tower associated with Dante, who stayed in Lunigiana as a guest of the Malaspina during his exile. The old village is a compact cluster of stone houses, arches and lanes on a ridge above the valley.
The surrounding hills are covered in chestnut and oak woods, with small terraces of olives, vines and vegetable gardens close to the villages.
Montereggio and the Neighbouring Area
Among the hamlets of the comune, Montereggio is known as the village of booksellers, because many of its families travelled across Italy selling books, a tradition remembered in the Bancarella literary prize. Other hamlets, such as Groppoli and Arpiola, lie closer to the valley floor and to the main road.
Pontremoli lies up the valley to the north, Filattiera is across the Magra, and Villafranca in Lunigiana is a short drive south. Tresana borders Mulazzo to the south-west.
Property for Sale in Mulazzo
Detached houses listed as villas are the most common type, often stone houses with gardens or land, along with village houses and a few apartments. Prices are modest: many homes are priced between about €100,000 and €250,000, some cost less, and only a few larger restored properties are offered at higher figures. Both renovated homes and houses needing work come onto the market.
Everyday Life and Getting There
Everyday shopping is done in the valley at Villafranca and Pontremoli, which also has a hospital, while the hamlets themselves are quiet and residential. Lunigiana’s food traditions include testaroli, chestnut flour, herb pies and local honey, and summer brings village fairs and festivals. The Gulf of La Spezia and the Cinque Terre are within reach for days by the sea.
The A15 motorway between Parma and La Spezia runs along the valley with junctions at Pontremoli and Aulla, and nearby stations on the Pontremolese railway serve Parma and La Spezia. Pisa and Genoa are the nearest international airports, and Parma and Bologna can be reached across the Apennines.
Buying in Mulazzo
Lunigiana is a seismic zone, so look for evidence of structural reinforcement in older stone houses and allow for it in the budget if it is missing. Hamlets higher in the hills can be harder to reach after snow or heavy rain, so drive the access road in more than one season if you can.
Ask a geometra familiar with Lunigiana to check that the house, any barns and the surrounding land are correctly shown on the cadastral maps and in the comune’s planning files, and that rights of way are clearly recorded.