Lordship of Carrara

The Lordship of Carrara was a medieval feudal state in northern Tuscany centered on the town of Carrara. In 1313, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII dissolved the Bishopric of Luni and granted Carrara's territory to the Republic of Pisa, after which control passed through several powers, including Lucca and the Visconti of Milan, over the following century. In 1473 the territory was sold to the Marquis of Massa, joining Massa and Carrara together in a lasting personal union under which they were governed jointly and later elevated in status, first to a principality and marquisate and then to a duchy and principality. The lordship's separate existence ended in 1836, when Massa and Carrara were merged into the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, closing roughly five centuries in which Carrara moved from a free commune to a feudal lordship and finally into a larger ducal state.