Convento di Santa Maria della Mota (ruderi)

Santa Maria della Mota is a ruined religious complex on the hillside above Dolceacqua. Its surviving stone walls and vault fragments overlook the valley.

Why it matters

Santa Maria della Mota was a religious complex set apart from Dolceacqua's village centre. The remaining stone walls and masonry vaults document its architectural form. Historical accounts preserve two chronological threads: an association with Novalesa Abbey in the sixteenth century and a later Augustinian foundation dated between 1623 and 1687. The sources do not establish how these stages relate. The site reflects the religious and cultural links between the Ligurian coast and the Alpine valleys.

What to notice

The surviving stone walls and masonry vaults reveal the former complex's architectural plan. Bay divisions, high window openings and the chapel volume remain visible among the domestic rooms. The isolated hillside location contrasts with Dolceacqua's dense village fabric and overlooks the Nervia valley and surrounding olive terraces.

Context and history

Historical accounts date construction of the Augustinian convent to between 1623 and 1687 and also describe an earlier sixteenth-century association with Novalesa Abbey in the Susa valley. The relationship between those two phases is uncertain. The complex later fell into ruin, and its remains are protected heritage above the Nervia valley.