Bianca
Located at the top of our villa, apartment Bianca offers a sensational view of the mountains around us.
Walk up to our spacious communal hallway from the front door of Spino Secco, then take the beautiful spiral staircase up to the next floor. On your right you will find our small but cozy apartment Bianca (62m2). Open the door and look through the sliding glass door to your private terrace with 4 chairs and an umbrella. Inside you find a round table with 4 chairs, a small couch and a comfortable chair. There is a TV on the wall. When the terrace door is opened, your living space will feel much bigger.
Bianca has two bedrooms and one bath (with a shower, toilet, bidet & sink). One bedroom has a queen size bed, the other one two single beds (which can be combined to one queen bed). The kitchen is fully equipped with a stove, little oven, refrigerator, pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, wine glasses, coffee maker and a small table with 2 chairs. The ceilings in the kitchen and bathroom are slanted so watch your head! Special bonus: this apartment has air conditioning.
Gallery
The Back Story
Who was Bianca?
Her name was Bianca Maria Aloisia Malaspina, and she was born halfway through the 17th century at the Malaspina Castle in Fosdinovo. The ruin in our garden is also a Malaspina Castle. It belonged once to the Spino Secco (dry thorn) side of the vast and influential aristocratic Malaspina family.
Fosdinovo is situated at the other side of the river Magra. It’s worth visiting because it's one of the best-preserved castles in the Lunigiana region and belonged to the Spino Fiorito (blooming thorn) branch of the family. The famous poet Dante visited our castle, but also the one in Fosdinovo in the 14th century. The Fosdinovo one got spooky in the second half of the 17th century because of Bianca. She was the albino daughter of the Malaspina Marquis James II and Maria Grimaldi.
As a young girl Bianca fell in love with a servant whom she wanted to marry despite her parents’ fervent opposition to that “shame”. To end the dispute her father cruelly decided to have her walled up alive in a cell with a dog and a wild boar, symbols of fidelity and rebellion. This story was a legend until 1980 when restoration work uncovered the remains of a young woman in a small underground cell. With the bones of Bianca, they also found the skeletons of a dog and a boar. We decided to remember this poor girl by naming our apartment after her.