Montignoso is a small town between Massa and Forte dei marmi. It is at 130 m of altitude and it has a population of about 10,000 inhabitants. It enjoys a very privileged position. Even if it is at the foot of the Apuan Alps it is also very near to the Tyrrhenian coast.

Therefore, seaside, cultural and excursion holidays can be combined in Montignoso. In the surroundings, it is possible to visit the Aghinolfi fortress and the XIX-century residence of the nobles Schiff-Giorgini. The lake Porta is in this area, too, and it is inside a natural reserve protected by the WWF.
The first documented information about the village dates to the Early Middle Ages and it is represented by an act of donation of the year 753. The Lombard king Astolfo ceded his brother-in law Anselmo, the founder and abbot of the abbey of Nonantola in Modena, part of the territory near the Castello Aghinolfi by means of this diploma. The first houses were built around this fortress.
There are two different stories about the origin of its inhabitants. According to some people, a group of pirates who settled the hinterland after they landed here from the Tyrrhenian Sea founded the most ancient built-up area and the town took the name of "Corsanico" after them. The version according to which the town could be an ancient colony founded by the inhabitants of Luni around the half of the VI century A.D. is more credible. In effect, Luni experienced a long diaspora of its inhabitants at the time of the Barbarian invasions because they escaped from pillages and devastations. The Lombards were the population who withdrew the dominion of the area of Montignoso to the Byzantines around the VII century.
Montignoso's castle is considered one of the main Lombard military architectures in Italy. During the whole Middle Ages, it was the object of a harsh dispute among many powerful entities. Pisa, Lucca, the Bishopric of Luni and various branches of the Malaspina family tried to subject it. The Aghinolfi took possession of the fortress around 1202.
In the Modern Age, instead, the history of the city has been characterized by the presence of the Giorgini family. Some of the most famous people in the ambit of science, politics and culture between the XVIII and the XIX centuries come from this family, such as Giovan Battista who was the senator of the Kingdom of Italy and Alessandro Manzoni's son-in-law. The Giorgini left the wonderful villa Schiff-Giorgini, the current municipal seat and centre of numerous cultural events, as a patrimony to the town.