Filattiera is in the province of Massa Carrara and it was the ancient Byzantine capital of the Lunigiana. It is set at 213 m. of altitude and it has a population of about 2,400 inhabitants. Here, it is possible to visit the church of San Giorgio, where the Lapide of Leodegar, a famous leader who stopped pagan rites, is kept.

The first built-up area in the current territory of Filattiera rose in the imperial Roman Times in a place where there is the millenary Parish of Sorano, today. In the years, the Byzantines, who built a castle and their most important centre in Lunigiana near the current regional capital, dominated this territory. Later, the Lombards came and they founded the parish. This variety of peoples and cultures caused the village to take on very peculiar characteristics in comparison to the other neighbouring towns.
In effect, diverse architectural testimonies linked to the different ways of organizing the defences in so different areas can be traced in Filattiera. One of them was in the main village on a high position and very near to the valley crossed by the river Magra. The people who planned these defences had one main concern, namely to protect the river, that was navigable, and the Francigena way that was one of the most important arteries in the Middle Ages. In effect, this track was the one used by the pilgrims and tradesmen who came from Northern Europe and went to Rome. Castelvecchio, the Castle of San Giorgio and the Castle of the village of Filattiera are still visible.
Instead, the second protection layer composed of construction dating to different periods overlooks the valley of the Caprio and was born to control the "way of salt" through which the quantities of this precious mineral were carried to Parma from the sea. Along this ancient track, there are still the remains of Monte Castello, a building dating to the VII century, of various fortified houses that are also called "tower houses".
The Castle of San Giorgio already existed in the Early Middle Ages and the Malaspina considerably changed it. They were local feudatories who restructured it and gave it both residential and defensive characteristics. With time, the feud of Filattiera was divided among the heirs of the family. The dominion of the powerful Malaspina ended in the XVI century with the arrival of the Spanish troops in Tuscany. The then ruler, Manfredi Malaspina, ceded its properties to Florence as long as he avoided fighting against the Spanish power. Formally, Florence got possession of Filattiera only in 1614 and only after Cosimo II de' Medici gave numerous privileges to Manfredi's son as established by the Emperor.