Barons and castellans · Other imperial lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Garfagnana lords

The upper valley of the Serchio between the Apuan Alps and the Apennines, a land of castles, kin groups of Lombard descent and mountain communes.

Lucca prevailed here in the second half of the twelfth century, but Frederick I's last descent in 1185 returned the valley to direct dependence on the Empire, and after Henry VI's death no emperor has an officer here. The pope counts it among the lands of Countess Matilda (and will hold it as a papal lordship from 1227 to 1240); Frederick II will later unite it with the Lunigiana and Versilia under his vicars and cede it to Lucca in 1248.

Who he is

Name
Not pinned. it.wikipedia names the Gherardinghi, Rolandinghi, Suffredinghi, the lords of Dalli, the Porcaresi and the lords of Bacciano among the families that divided the valley; which held what in 1200 is not in our sources.
Title
Lineages of castle lords and rural communities
Confidence
low

it.wikipedia, Garfagnana; Treccani, GARFAGNANA.

Overlord

The Empire directly (since 1185); claimed by Lucca, and by the pope as part of Countess Matilda's lands.

What it holds

  • The castles and villages of the upper Serchio: Castelnuovo, Castiglione, Camporgiano, Piazza al Serchio, Pieve Fosciana, Careggine, Vagli, Sillano, Gallicano, Coreglia [holders not pinned]
  • Barga is a self-governing town of the valley (separate record)

How it was acquired

Inherited lordships of the old Lombard kin groups; imperial dependence restored in 1185.

Allies and rivals

Lucca (claimant), the pope (Matildine claim), the Malaspina of the Lunigiana and the Frignano lords across the Apennines.

How things stand that morning

Held by its own lords and communities under a distant Empire; Lucca's and the pope's claims are not in force that winter as far as the sources show.

Wealth

Chestnut woods, pasture, the road over the Apennines by San Pellegrino; tolls.

Military

Hill castles. No numbers.

Threats

  • Lucca
  • The papal claim to the Matildine lands

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. Beyond 1200: 1227-1240Gregory IX establishes a papal lordship in the Garfagnana against Lucca.

Places of note

  • Castelnuovo: Castle at the Serchio and Turrite confluence

Where the sources disagree

  • campaign notes Part 5 say the pope claims Matilda's lands in Tuscany and Philip of Swabia holds the title to them from Henry VI (1195). The Garfagnana is one of the places where that claim bites; neither party has an officer there on 1 January 1200 in our sources.

Evidence: The 1185 and later dates are in Treccani; the lords of 1200 are not.

On the map: One block for the whole valley; the lordships inside it are not drawn.

Primary sources for Empire

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

8 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. GARFAGNANA (Treccani, Enciclopedia Italiana)
  2. Garfagnana (it.wikipedia)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.