Sarzana, Luni, Carrara e la Val di Magra

The southernmost area of ​​the river basin of the Magra river is between the confluence of the Magra and the Vara, the plain of Luni and the mouth of the river itself. A rich, varied and evocative landscape, made of green hills covered with vines and olive trees and dotted with fortified villages, halfway between the Apuan Alps on one side and the sea on the other.

A range of places to discover, starting with the ruins of Luni, the "splendid civitas" founded by the Romans in 177 BC. after the conquest of the Apuan area, a merchant port and commercial port of the most flourishing of the Empire (above all thanks to the passage of the precious Moorish marbles coming from the world-famous Carrara marble quarries, in the Apuan Alps). After centuries of glory and other centuries of decline and oblivion today of the ancient Roman colony remain the archaeological excavations, the National Museum and, above all, the layout of the large imperial amphitheater still visible. A monument long forgotten and immersed today in a characteristic countryside, but still full of charm and evocative power.

If the historical boundaries of Lunigiana derive from Luni and its medieval Diocese, starting from the XIII century to arrive until today the most important place of the lower Val di Magra was (and is) certainly Sarzana, heir to the historical and political tradition of Luni, today a thriving and developed center. A small city stretched on the Via Francigena, embellished with surprising treasures of art and architecture (above all the Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta and the Pieve S. Andrea) and protected by ramparts and the beautiful Renaissance fortresses of Sarzanello (in the first hill) and of the Cittadella (formerly called Firmafede).

In the surroundings of Luni and Sarzana, between the mouth of the Magra and the hills of the Apuan side, the landscape of the Val di Magra is characterized by an impressive series of charming medieval villages set in a dominant position almost as a crown to the plain below; treasure chests and at the same time suggestive observation points of glimpses and breathtaking landscapes: in Castelnuovo Magra (with the mighty Castello dei Vescovi di Luni and the church of S. Maddalena) in Vezzano Ligure, from Nicola to Ortonovo, from Arcola to Ameglia , from Trebiano to Montemarcello.