borgo, Fornovolasco, Forno Volastro, Forno de Volascho, Forno

Fornovolasco, a Norman-period borgo in the Garfagnana, is a settlement shaped by its fierce geography. It clings to a narrow valley at the southern foot of the Pania della Croce, one of the highest peaks of the Apuan Alps, where three streams converge to form the Turrite di Gallicano. This waterborne crossroads splits the village into three distinct sectors, its buildings scrambling up the rocky flanks in obedience to the terrain.

The 18th-century historian Sigismondo Bertacchi found it a tiny place, barely one and a half hearths by the tax register, though it could still muster six soldiers. Its church, dedicated to San Francesco, was a poor one, with an income under sixty scudi. Yet the surrounding cliffs held wealth: good silver mines and an iron mine from which much had already been extracted, with plenty more to come. The borgo’s position, bordering the states of Florence, Stazzema, and Cardosello, as well as Tressilico and Vergemoli, placed it at a quiet hinge of territories. Today it remains a remote hamlet, reached by a single winding road from Gallicano, nine kilometres below.

Description via source. Coordinates and heritage data from the Atika atlas.