Montemarcello (English version)

On top of the promontory of Caprione, the village of Montemarcello overviews both the Gulf of La Spezia and the Valley of the river Magra.
According to tradition it seems that its name dates back to the roman times to recall the victory of Consul Marco Claudio Marcello against the Ligurians in 155 b.C. The roman influence is visible in the planning of the village: its streets crossing one another perpendicularly like the ones in a military camp (“castrum”) of the time make it unique among the villages of the valley.
In 1286 the Bishop of Luni, Enrico da Fucecchio ordered the building of some fortifications on the promontory, particularly the circular tower at the northern entrance of the village. But its actual birth took place in 1474 when Montemarcello became a parish. Nowadays only some parts of the walls built soon after (in 1485) are still visible. To the western end of the village we can visit the parish of S.Pietro, bult in 1474, but restructured in the XVII century, according to the rules of the baroque style.
The small chapel on the left represents the original part of the building; inside the chapel the visitor can appreciate some valuable works of art, like a marble altarpiece of 1529, representing Jesus Christ, S.Sebastiano and S.Rocco by Domenico Gar and a triptych of the XV century with a Virgin Mary between S.Pietro and S.Giovanni, by the so-called “Maestro di Borsigliana” (whose works are mainly to be found in the area called “Garfagnana”, not far from here).
Montemarcello with its characteristic narrow streets and well-preserved houses has become a favourite destination for journalists and writers in the last few years. Since 1985 it has been included in the Montemarcello – Magra Regional Park: in this connection it is worth visiting the Botanical Gardens where the visitor can discover the flora and fauna of the park through guided paths and enjoy at the same time a magnificent view over the valley of the river Magra and the Alpi apuane. Along the road to Montemarcello the visitor can stop at the Convent of the Barefoot Carmelitans, founded in 1176 as “Monastero del Corvo”.
The present residential complex is made up a large neo-gothic building of the end of the XIX century. The walls of the church in baked clay and the apsidal part, later a chapel, date back to the ancient monastery. Inside it is worth noticing the famous wooden Romanic crucifix called “Black Christ”: it is very tall, recalls the “Volto Santo” of Lucca and is among the most important of this kind in Italy and Europe.
According to the tradition, based on the so-called “Epistle of Friar Ilario” (preserved in the Laurentian Library of Florence) the poet Dante Alighieri seems to have stayed in the ancient monastery.