STELE STATUE MUSEUM

How to reach Pontremoli

By car

A15 motorway exit Pontremoli
State Road: SS 62 of Cisa Strade

Free Parking “Elena Dosi Delfini Parking” – Via dei Chiosi
Walk across the medieval Cresa bridge
Once in the historic center, turn left and walk along Via Garibaldi up to Porta Parma where there is the entrance to the museum’s gallery of external lifts

On the train

Parma – La Spezia line www.trenitalia.com
Pontremoli station
Distance from the railway station – Castello del Piagnaro 1.1 km (15 minutes on foot)

Leaving the station, take a right onto Viale dei Mille
Cross the Cairoli bridge (bridge with four statues of saints)
Take Via Ricci Armani on the right and enter the historic centre
Cross the Piazza della Repubblica and Piazza del Duomo
Take Via Garibaldi up to Porta Parma where there is the entrance to the museum’s gallery of external lifts

By bus

Bus service: www.massa-carrara.cttnord.it

Pontremoli

Pontremoli, located in Lunigiana, in the northern part of Tuscany, in the province of Massa-Carrara, on the strip of land nestled between Liguria and Emilia, lies at the foot of the Apennine Mountains at an elevation of approximately 250 meters above sea level. It is surrounded by mountains that reach heights of nearly two thousand meters.

Pontremoli is situated in the center of a wide basin that encompasses the extensive territory of the valleys of the Magra River, Verde River, and Gordana River. It is connected to the neighboring regions through the Apennine mountain passes of Cisa, Bratello, Cirone, and Rastrello. The municipal territory is very vast, covering an area of 182 square kilometers, which places it as the fourth largest municipality in Italy in terms of extension.

The urban center of Pontremoli has developed within the confines of the strip of land between the Magra River and the Verde River, stretching from Porta Parma in the north to Porta Fiorentina in the south. Only in recent decades has the settlement started to expand into the vast countryside to the right of the Verde River, as many residents have chosen to leave the historic center or descend from the numerous hamlets.

Pontremoli is known as the “City of the Book.” The connection between the city and books can be traced back to as early as 1458 when, less than two years after the invention of the printing press, a mercatum tomorum (book fair) was documented here. The Pontremoli fairs became an important selling point for books, and it was from the Alta Lunigiana region that the phenomenon of itinerant booksellers originated, which took on truly conspicuous characteristics during the 19th century. The trade of these booksellers developed mainly in Northern Italy and abroad (France, Spain, Central and South America).

“This is the land where booksellers are born,” wrote Oriana Fallaci in 1952, and it is indeed from the rich tradition of booksellers in Pontremoli that the prestigious Bancarella Literary Prize was born in 1952. Alongside the Bancarella Prize, over time, the Bancarellino Prize was added, dedicated to children’s literature, and the Bancarella Sport Prize, which awards the best books in the field of sports.

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