In the heart of the province of La Spezia, the green and luxuriant Val di Vara is a jealous keeper of ancient stories and landscapes. The river gives the name to the valley and divides this green oasis into two parts: the Upper Val di Vara and the Lower Val di Vara.
A mosaic of small villages perched on tops plunges into the cool waters of rivers and torrents, which run across the luxuriant valleys edged by old parishes, churches and castles, from a still living past.
  Man has been living in this valley for centuries, as witnessed by the digging in Zignago and the caves of Maissana. In the Middle Ages the valley partly became a halting place for the pilgrims who traveled along the ‘Via Francigena’ towards the capital city of Christendom. The building of such places of worship as cloisters and monasteries has represented a strong call for the faithful who came in this fertile and populated valley. Here man, with the complicity of a friendly nature, has given birth to new settlements, devoting himself to farming and breeding. Even today these activities strengthen the inhabitants’ bond with their land, known for its typical and D.O.C. products: dairy products, meat, preserves, honey and undergrowth products, etc. Farming and breeding are typical of Val di Vara. However, its nature can also be enjoyed by travelers. The many-colored and friendly landscape is a background for every kind of excursions: trekking, rides, mountain-bike trips, birdwatching and canoe-rafting are just a few of the activities that you can practise in this lovely landscape rich in waterfalls, villages, hills, castles and woods, full of odd inhabitants such as foxes, squirrels, boars and again hawks, herons and partridges.

Things to see

The Val di Vara is known as ‘the Valley of the Round Villages’: the streets, the squares and the houses are built around the church or the castle. This creates sinuous and peculiar planimetric structures. You ought to visit the numerous castles strategically built over all the territory by the noble Malaspina family.
Brugnato: the 11th-century cathedral; Borghetto Vara: the Sanctuary of Nostra Signora di Roverano; Calice al Cornoviglio: the Malaspina castle and the Davide Beghè Art Gallery; Maissana: the cave and the archaeological sites; Sesta Godano: the village of Groppo (old fortified village); Varese Ligure: the round village, the Romanesque bridge; Zignago: the archaeological sites.