Vista del Golfo dei Poeti - View of the Gulf of Poets
Ruderi della Villa Romana Marittima - Ruins of the Roman maritime villa
Monastero di Santa Croce - The Monastery of Santa Croce
name. It became famous thanks to the memoirs of Dante and Boccaccio. The building is now the premises of Centro Lunigianese di studi Danteschi, and is used as a place for spiritual relax, and welcome place with some houses located in the park. The chapel of the monastery hosts a famous Romanic crucifix, called “Cristo Nero” - Black Christ, of great dimensions, the clothing and looks are oriental, it is one of the most important in Liguria and Europe in its kind. Its story is linked to the relics of the very precious blood that is kept inside the co cathedral of Sarzana. A first monastery able to keep the precious crucifix was built around year 1000, on the promontory of Santa Croce by the bishop Pipino of the diocese of Luni. During the fourteenth century the building was abandoned, it was only in the seventeenth century that the church was renovated, adding a cover of the apse, then the church was reopened. The whole area
was improved with the construction of a small neogothic style castle, a second chapel and a majestic park. The castle in Ameglia was a property of the bishops of Luni, perched on rocks just like the village, it is still in perfet conditions. Its walls, with many windows, are just one of the three walls that surround the residential area. The tower of the castle can also be visited, from here it is possible to enjoy a wonderful view, that goes from the mouth of the river Magra up to the buttress of the Apuan Alps. The tower near the castle has older origins, it was built between the tenth anf eleventh century as sighting tower. Inside the courtyard there is a wonderful rose garden and the typical central mosaic of the court, an area called “Fosso”. The castle is at present the premises of the municipality and since 2012 hosts ceremonies, events, weddings, shows and concerts. 27