The history of Camporaghena in 2 minutes
From the early Middle Ages to today: 800 years of life, work, war and silence in an Apennine village.
The origins (before 1200)
Camporaghena was born in the early Middle Ages as a hilltop village for grazing flocks. Its location is no accident: it lies on the defensive line running from Terrarossa up the Taverone valley, a strategic route for controlling the territory.
The first inhabitants were shepherds and livestock farmers. They chose this place because the high-altitude meadows offered summer pastures, the Taverone stream provided abundant water, and the elevated position allowed them to spot anyone approaching from afar.
The wide stone pavements that still surround the village today date from this period. Walking on them means setting foot on stones laid more than a thousand years ago.
The Middle Ages and the Malaspina (1200–1400)
The first documented mention of Camporaghena is from 11 June 1299.
On that date, the lords of Dallo (today's Dalli, a hamlet of Sillano Giuncugnano) ceded possession of the castles of Camporaghena, Torsana, Verrucola Bosi, Montale and Montefiore to the representatives of the Municipality of Lucca. The deed is preserved in the Curia de' Ribelli e De' Banditi at the State Archives of Lucca.
During this period, Lunigiana was a borderland and a land of conflict. The Malaspina family, descended from the Obertenghi, controlled most of the territory with a network of castles and fiefs. Camporaghena lay in an area contested between the Malaspina, the Municipality of Lucca and other local lordships.
In the acts of the synod of the Diocese of Luni-Sarzana of 1470–1471, it is recorded that the chapel of Camporaghena and Torsana depended on the Pieve of Santa Maria Assunta in Crespiano. This is the first written evidence of a church in the village.
The modern age (1500–1800)
For centuries, Camporaghena lived on subsistence farming and livestock. Chestnuts, potatoes, rye, sheep, goats. The chestnut economy was the mainstay: chestnut flour fed families all year round.
Isolation was almost total. In winter, snow blocked the paths for weeks. There was no carriage road. Mule tracks were used to go down to the valley. Contact with the outside world was rare.
During this period, the art of the Lunigiana stonemasons developed. The sandstone portals, jambs and windows still visible in the village today are their work. Each carved stone tells of the skill of craftsmen who worked the local stone with simple tools and expert hands.
The 19th century and the Unification of Italy (1800–1900)
In 1861, the building that now houses the B&B Viandanti, Artisti e Sognatori was built. It was the year of the Unification of Italy, but in Camporaghena life changed little. The village remained isolated, the economy remained subsistence-based.
In the second half of the 19th century, the slow demographic decline that would characterise the entire 20th century began. The first emigrants left for America, France and the industrial cities of northern Italy.
The 20th century and the war (1900–1945)
4 July 1944 is the most tragic date in the history of Camporaghena.
During Operation Wallenstein, a vast Nazi-Fascist roundup that swept through the whole of Lunigiana, a German unit reached the village. Four people were killed on the parvis of the church of San Pietro:
- Don Lino Baldini, the parish priest, who refused to cooperate with the operation
- Battista Bertocchi, civilian
- Ermenegildo Bertocchi, civilian
- Ermenegildo Giannarelli, civilian from Sassalbo
Don Lino Baldini is remembered by the ANPI as a victim of Nazi-Fascist violence. His story is that of a man who chose to stand with his people, paying with his life.
Depopulation (1950–2000)
Like all Italian mountain villages, Camporaghena emptied. Young people left to study, work and live in cities. Houses were left empty. Terraces were swallowed by the forest. Mule tracks disappeared under brambles and ferns.
In 2011, the census recorded 15 inhabitants. A village that for centuries had been home to hundreds of people was reduced to a few dozen residents, mostly elderly.
And yet, something endures. The stones, the carved portals, the church, the paths. And an idea: that this place still has something to offer those who know how to listen.
Today (2010–present)
In 2010, Camporaghena officially became part of the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. A recognition that protects not only nature, but also the history and culture of this corner of Lunigiana.
Today, Camporaghena is a place where time has stood still. Not by choice, but by necessity: depopulation has frozen the village in a bubble outside time. But that is precisely what makes it special.
Here you can walk on early medieval pavements, touch portals carved five centuries ago, sit on the parvis where Don Lino Baldini lost his life. And listen to the silence. The same silence that shepherds, stonemasons, partisans and emigrants have listened to.
It is not a museum. It is a living village, even with 15 inhabitants. And there is a B&B that welcomes those who want to discover it.