Zeri in Tuscany

The territory of of Zeri lies on a wide valley at the border with Liguria and Emilia in the province of Massa Carrara. It oscillates between 200 m. and 1587 m of altitude. Its chief town, Patigno, is set at 708 m a.s.l. and it has a population of about 1,300 inhabitants.

The peculiarity of this municipality is to be a territorial unity constituted of numerous centres, none of which bears the name of "Zeri". It is an essentially rural area, where small farming villages are scattered everywhere with no particularly remarkable architectures. Yet, there is the possibility to admire the typical constructions of the shepherds and farmers living in the Val di Magra by visiting this area. They are buildings made up of sandstones of different shapes and sizes bound with the ancient groove technique and with roofs of "pagne", namely long flat stones.
The ancient name of the territory was "Cerri" (woods) as it is testified by a document of 774 written by Charlemagne himself and that referred to some woods to be given to the monastery of San Colombano in Bobbio. The towns of Zeri were dominated by Mulazzo that at the time was controlled by Obizzo Malaspina until 1164, when the German Emperor Frederick II settled that they depended upon Pontremoli. The inhabitants of the valley had never accepted this subjugation and in the centuries numerous revolts took place, among which the one of 1526 suppressed in blood.
The inhabitants of Zero were shepherds and farmers and they had always fought against the bordering towns for the control and the exploitation of lands and pastures. In particular, the battle against Suvero for the wood of Gambatacca that lasted from 1526 to the XVIII century is worth being remembered. In 1796, Zero distinguished itself for its strong resistance against the Napoleonic troops.
After the Restoration (1814-1815), Zeri was annexed to the Tuscan Grand Duchy until 1848, when it was ceded to the dukedom of Parma. With the plebiscite of 1860 and its access to the kingdom of Italy, Zero also obtained its political autonomy from Pontremoli.