Maissana in Italy | Province of La Spezia, Liguria
Visit the village of Maissana and make mountain biking tours in the Vara Valley in Liguria, Italy.
Maissana
Slates and lapis in Maissana
Panorama and archeology coupled with ligurian specialties
Travel tips
La Chiesa parrocchiale di San Bartolomeo in Maissana
Archeological excavation site of Val Lagorara, an old mine said to date from 3500 to 2000 BC.
Sagra Frisceu e dei Testaieu, on 6th August in Tavarone
Sagra del Fungo, 26th - 28th July in Tavarone
Festa di Nostra Signora Del Sacro Cuore, 5th June in Torza
Festa di San Bartolomeo, 25th August in Torza
Sagra Paesana, second-last Sunday of August in Torza
Sagra dello Stoccafisso e Fagiolame, 2nd – 9th October in Torza
Sagra del Cinghiale, 4th December in Torza
History
Tribes of the Lapicini originally inhabited this country and worked on natural stone (lapis), slates and sandstone. According to coin artefacts this region already belonged to the ninth Roman Legion by 205 BC. A branch of the old Via Romea, which ran from Sestri Levante to the Petronio valley along the river of the same name, ran past this region and it had a branch going up to Parma and into the Apennines or back to Varese up to Val Graveglia in Genoa.
In the middle of the 20th century the population shrank since many jobs were to be found in the shipyards at the coast. The population is just slowly growing again in the current century.
How to reach
The town is located in the mountains, 35 km north-west of La Spezia. You take the SP523 from Sestri Levante and then the SP54 through Torza and Tavarone up to Maissana. There is a public bus from Sestri Levante onwards. The municipality consists of 10 constituencies and extends over 45 square kilometers. Campore, Cembrano, Chiama, Colli, Disconesi, Ossegna, Salterana, Santa Maria, Tavarone and Torza belong to Maissana.
