The history of Montignoso depends on its condition of borderland. From its height it was possible to dominate the entire Tyrrhenian coast and the admission to the north. For this reason the Aghinolfi castle was build. A written document proves the existence of this castle already in the year 753, when the Longobard King Anselmo gave the abbey of Nonantola an olive-yard by the Aghinolfi castle among other gifts. The castle, around which the village rose, dominated the entire coast and its control, thanks to this strategic position, caused in the long run several struggles among different people.
It belonged to the bishop of Luni, to the "versiliesi" Lords called "da Castello" because of their residence in the ancient castle and from the 13th to the 19th century it was under the jurisdiction of Lucca, apart from a short period under Pisa.
The Lucchesi didn't think much of this territory, they reinforced the castle, but deprived it of troops. It was Cosimo of Medici, who had a coasting tower raised in Cinquale.
In 1812 under the rule of Elisa Baciocchi the coasting territory, which had been evacuated because of the malaria originated by the "lake of Porta", was reclaimed.
Montignoso stuck to the duchy of Lucca till 1847, when the last duke, Carlo Ludovico, abdicated. Montignoso with its territory was annexed to the duchy of the family of Este, but only 12 years later there was the annexation to the Italian Kingdom.
Under the new state Montignoso didn't undergo a lot of changes, the history would no longer cross its territory, apart from the terrible winter of 1944, when it was literally divided into two parts through the Gothic line and when the ruins of Aghinolfi Castle was bombed by the allies, who destroyed the most of the existent structures, because of the German occupation..
Before the war the town municipality was abolished and connected with that of Apuania; it was reinstated only in 1946.
Montignoso can be divided into different suburbs: Piazza, Prato, Capanne, Cinquale, Cerreto, Sant'Eustachio, Pasquilio and Corsanico.
In Montignoso the tourist has to visit first of all the Aghinolfi castle, then the Schiff Giorgini villa, a beautiful example of 19th century architecture and a lot of churches, most of which have been destroyed during the war, but have been now largely restored. In the S. Eustachio parish church we can find two altar-pieces, which are ascribed to the Master of "Stranotica" and to the Master of "Tondo Lathrop" of Lucca. In the same church is also a wooden sculpture dating back to the trecento pisano and representing the Madonna.
Porta Beltrame (Beltrame Gate) lies at the border with Pietrasanta, but it is in a bad state. It seems that it was the ancient tower under which Alighieri passed.
Today Montignoso lives most of all by tourism: from the fine sandy beach of Cinquale to the wonderful hills rich in vegetation. From Pasquilio, which is 800 meters above sea level, a marvellous panorama may be admired over the entire Tyrrhenian coast.
In the zone of the ex Porta lake, besides the natural beauties, a Golf has been recently opened, where it is possible to play both in summer and in winter. In the near future a part of this area will be destined for an important race-course. We have also to mention the planned realisation of a tourist river-port by the sides of the river Cinquale, which will be destined for little and middle navigation.
There is also a tourist airport . Before the war the economy of this territory was different, here lived farmers and métayers of the great families, in particular of Schiff-Giorgini and Sforza, which have made the history of Montignoso.
Today the gardening of the garden is a personal passion, but the wines, the oil and the onions produced here are famous and renowned.

A visit to Aghinolfi castle
The restoration of the castle Aghinolfi, finished this year, started in 1997 under the inspection of the Montignoso municipality. After the official inauguration of last April, the castle is now opened to the public. The visit is very suggestive, in some points the transparent flooring allows to admire, through an horizontal section, the traces of different demolition and reconstruction, whereas a vertical section witness the subsequent stratification and floorings. The system of artificial lighting makes the scene more fascinating. Inside the castle there are archeological remains, which have been brought to light during the excavations and which date back to different ages.
It is possible to visit the castle from July 15th to September 15th at the following opening time:
from Tuesday to Saturday 17.00 - 20.00
Sunday 18.00 - 22.00
It is possible to benefit by a little observation train which leaves at 1 hour intervals from the trading centre of Cinquale.
The visit, which lasts 45 minutes, is guided by professional guides, who explain to the visitors the history of the castle, its restoration and the history of Montignoso. Thanks to a filmed reconstruction, which has been realised with the computer through a tridimensional graphic, we can see how the castle was in the different ages of its ultramillenarian history.

Sforza and Giorgini, the prestige of the family.
A memorial tablet on the façade of the ancient townhall, recalls Count Carlo Sforza's origin from Montignoso. He was born in Montignoso in 1872 and he was the Foreign Secretary, who signed the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920, the Peace Treaty in the post-war period (1947), the Marshall Plan (1948) and the Atlantic Pact (1949). Carlo Sforza was the scion of one of the family, who made the history of this land, and had a successful political career: he was Foreign Secretary with Giolitti between 1920 and 1921. After the period of Fascism, during which he went as an exile to America, he came back to the Foreign Office in the first moderate government of De Gasperi (1947) and he died at eighty in Rome. Another renowned person of the Sforza family was Giovanni, historian and man of letters, who wrote the "Historical Memories of Montignoso" .
In the Giorgini family, who were important landowner ruling over a large part of the Montignoso territory, we have to mention Gaetano Giorgini, who was Chancellor of Pisa University, famous mathematician and plumber. He planned the sluice-gate of Cinquale, which made the malaria disappear from the land of Marina in 1812, checking the homonymous stream. Thirty years later his son Gianbattista, who taught criminal institutions at Pisa, went to Alessandro Manzoni's house and met Vittoria, called Vittorina, the daughter. He felt in love with her and they got married in 1846. From that day Vittorina lived in the country villa at Piazza, which is nowadays the seat of the townhall of Montignoso. Finally we have to mention Nicolao Giorgini, who held the regency of the Lucca's Duchy on Leopoldo II's behalf after Carlo Ludovico's abdication.