Borghetto di Vara

Introduction

Description

It has been frequented since Roman times as a stopover station ('mansio') and passed through here by those who, in the Middle Ages, wanted to reach Pontremoli from Levanto. Travelling along the road from Brugnato to Borghetto, one notices on the left. and almost on the roadside, a small church: it is the Sanctuary of the Madonna dell'Accola, of Lombard origins. In 1600, during the construction of the monastery, it was temporarily used by the Franciscans as a church for officiating rites. During World War II, it became a dormitory for soldiers. Arriving in the heart of the village, the memory that perhaps the Roman bridge over the Vara river itself has brought back, of the bombing on that day during World War I, is evoked by a glance at that baroque bell tower that stands alone in the centre of the square: together with a few houses, it is one of the few remaining original buildings: I'Ago, built around a summit, and whose parish church of Sant'Andrea was the chapel of the castle that once existed; Cassana, where, in a chestnut grove called 'Campo la Para' is the entrance to the famous Caverna Ossifera (here, in 1824, fragments of bone material belonging to the 'Speleo Bear' were found during an exploration). Both Grotta Ossifera and the nearby Grotta del Ginepro are only accessible to experienced cavers. The present church of San Michele is built on the remains of the castle, the battlements of which are visible in the lower part of the bell tower.
 
 The story goes ...
 It was back on 7 September 1300 when the Madonna appeared to two shepherdesses from L'Ago. It was to one of them, 'Mutina', so called by the locals because she was unable to speak, that Our Lady conferred the important task of communicating the event. The villagers, upon hearing the news, rush to the place: the Madonna had disappeared, but they find a small picture hanging from a tree with her effigy. The picture is transported to the parish of I'Ago, but from there it disappears only to be found again at the place of the apparition. Interpreting this miraculous event as a divine message, the beautiful Sanctuary of Our Lady of Roverano was built on the present site, 10 km from Borghetto di Vara, and whose feast is still celebrated on 7 September each year. Upon entering, a plaque on the right-hand wall indicates the exact spot where the Madonna appeared; nearby is a slate triangle representing in bas-relief the scene of the apparition to the two shepherdesses. Instead, we are in 1778 when another apparition occurred at the spot where the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Chestnut now stands, in Boccapignone, right on the Aurelia. The original church, dating back to the Longobard period, was swept away in 1752 by the flooding river: here the image of the Madonna appeared on a chestnut tree (part of which was then preserved in an altar) and to which the inhabitants asked for graces.

Information

Area: 27.34 sq km
Altitude: 115m
Maximum elevation:
Number of inhabitants: 992
Name in dialect: U Burgétu
Name in dialect: borghettini
 Patron Saint:St. Charles Borromeo (4 November)
Website: www.comunediborghettodivara.net
Webcam:
Bordering municipalities: Beverino, Brugnato, Carrodano, Levanto, Pignone, Rocchetta di Vara, Sesta Godano
 Villages and hamlets:
Highlands: