Overview
It was in the year 884 when, in the region of Val di Magra, where the river Magra and its tributary Aulella meet, Adalbert of Tuscany founded a church and attached a monastery to it. The peculiar geography historically influenced events, and at this crossroads of major northern and Apennine communication routes, the position of a wealthy lord was consolidated. In addition to building a castle, a hospital, houses and warehouses, he also desired the spiritual presence of a monastery entrusted to the monks of St Benedict, endowed with numerous privileges and landed estates. Adalbert's son, Adalbert II, who was married to Bertha of Provence, brought the relics of St Caprasius, spiritual leader of the oldest and most important monastic community in the West, located on the islands of Lérins, to the family abbey. Until the beginning of the 13th century, the Abbey was ruled by powerful abbots who tried for a long time to preserve their independence from the bishop of Luni. In the 16th century, it became the secular commendatory of the Centurione marquises and during the 18th century it passed to the Malaspina family, who reserved the privilege of appointing the parish priest until the early 1800s. The buildings were severely affected by Allied bombing in 1943-45, but thanks to recent restoration work, it is now possible to visit the site considering its millenary history.
