Castello e borgo medievale di Ameglia (Cafaggio)

Ameglia’s historic village rises in concentric levels on a hill above the Magra. The castle, recorded in an imperial diploma of 963 as the Castrum de Amelia, stands at the centre of the settlement’s long history. The medieval lanes and surviving fortifications form the upper village of Cafaggio.

Why it matters

The 963 diploma of Otto I names the Castrum de Amelia among the possessions recognised to the Bishop of Luni. Houses grew around the castle to form a fortified village, arranged in rings along the hillside. Ameglia’s position above the final stretch of the Magra links its history to the river valley and the surrounding coastal landscape.

What to notice

The circular defensive tower, dated to the tenth or eleventh century by the municipality, remains visible alongside sections of the old walls. The palace-castle dates to the thirteenth century and once served as a residence of the bishops-counts of Luni. The close-set lanes follow the slope in concentric tiers, while views from the hill extend across the lower Magra plain.

Context and history

The castle and settlement appear in the 963 imperial diploma, which records the castrum among the Bishop of Luni’s possessions. A fortified village developed around it. The surviving circular tower is dated by the Comune di Ameglia to the tenth or eleventh century; the later palace-castle is thirteenth-century. The castle complex served as the municipal seat until 2008. A necropolis at Cafaggio below the village provides evidence of the area’s earlier history.