Liguria · La Spezia
Ameglia
A hilltop borgo above the mouth of the Magra, the Lunigiana edge of Liguria where the river meets the Gulf of Poets.
By Peter Benei
Written about. No. 18.
The letter
Ameglia got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Visiting
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 1 h from Pisa
- Population
- 4,262
- J11°
- F13°
- M14°
- A17°
- M21°
- J25°
- J28°
- A29°
- S25°
- O20°
- N16°
- D12°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime air temperature, averages for 2020–2024. The sea is warmest in August at 28° and coldest in February at 13°. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Going to the sea? How to find the free beaches in Italy.
Why come
The Magra was the Roman Macra, the eastern boundary of Liguria, and the hill at Ameglia stands on the border between Lunigiana and the Riviera where that river reaches the sea. Genoa bought part of the fief in 1141, the bishops took it back by 1284, and Castruccio Castracani of Lucca conquered it in 1321: a small fortress passed between larger powers for three and a half centuries before it settled into the shape it now has. The marina at the river mouth is a separate world from the hill town above it.
Where the castle and its concentric streets sit on the summit, the frazione at the water is a former fishing village, flat, tied to the tide and to summer moorings rather than to the bishops who once held the heights. The two headlands south of that marina are reachable only by boat or steep footpath, cut off from the estuary settlement by their own geography rather than by distance. The town, in effect, is two places joined by the same river: a fortified height that answered to Luni and Genoa, and a working shoreline that answered to the sea.
How to get there
From Pisa (PSA), about 1 h 9 min by car.
Genoa (GOA) is about 1 h 38 min away.
By car from the center of Pisa 1 h or Parma 1 h 39 min.
Coming by train into Livorno Centrale? Ameglia is about 1 h 1 min away by road.
Every town within reach of Pisa airport.
First time driving in Italy? Read our complete manual.
What to see
Castello di Ameglia
Rebuilt in 1174 on a tenth-century footprint, episcopal fortress of the bishops of Luni, cylindrical keep above the Magra estuary.
Centro storico di Ameglia
Concentric medieval streets around the castle, twelfth and thirteenth-century houses with stone arches and external staircases.
Bocca di Magra
Old fishing village and marina at the river mouth, summer mooring for small craft, departure point for Punta Corvo by sea.
Punta Bianca and Punta Corvo
Two headlands south of Bocca di Magra, white-stone and dark-pebble beaches, reachable on foot from Montemarcello or by boat.
Santa Croce del Corvo
Former monastery at Bocca di Magra named in a letter copied by Boccaccio as Dante's stop around 1314, now a Carmelite study and conference center.
From the guides
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
LUV RistoranteRistorante
LUV Ristorante has two Gambero Rosso forks (82/100) to its name.
Pescarino-Sapori di Terra e di MareRistorante
A spot in the Michelin Guide, at Pescarino-Sapori di Terra e di Mare.
Before you sit down: how to order at a restaurant, how to spot a tourist trap, what aperitivo is and how the Italian bar works.
Living here
Could you live here?
Ameglia is a village with a town close by.
- A village of 4,262, with Sarzana (21,768 people) 11 min away for the shopping and a meal out. Our rule is a town within 15 minutes.
- Carrara, a city of 59,662, is 23 min by car. Closer than our 30 to 60 minutes: handy for everything, so check the town still keeps a life of its own.
The rules come from our series Where to Move in Italy, written from the places we have lived: Part 1, The End of the Road · Part 2, The Small Town · Part 3, The City · Part 4, The Postcard · Part 5, The Other Half. The towns we would pick are in Part 6, The Best Towns.
- Population 4,262, down 3.4% since 2015
- Nearest city Carrara, 23 min drive
- Nearest national health service hospital Sarzana, 5 km as the crow flies · how healthcare works in Italy
- Homes in the center: €1,350 to €2,900 per m² to buy, €6.50 to €11.00 per m² a month to rent
All the numbers Common questions, designations, lists and sources.
More about living here
- In-between
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Full fibre reaches 91% of homes
- Primary school in the comune
- Earthquake zone 3, low hazard
- Pisa airport (PSA), 1 h 9 min drive, the nearest with scheduled flights
- Regional capital Genoa, 1 h 29 min drive
If you are moving here
Who lives here
7% of residents are foreign citizens, most often from Romania, Morocco and Albania, against 9% across Italy. 21 of them come from English-speaking countries or western and northern Europe, mostly the United Kingdom and Germany. There are 372 people over 65 for every 100 children under 15, against 216 across Italy. 53% of homes have no resident, holiday homes and empty ones counted together, against 27% across Italy. La Spezia province ranks 42nd of 107 in Il Sole 24 Ore's quality of life ranking for 2025.
Health and schools
The nearest emergency room is in Sarzana, 5 km as the crow flies. The nearest major one is in Pisa, 54 km away. The nearest children's emergency room is in La Spezia, 12 km away. The nearest IB school is The International School in Genoa, 84 km as the crow flies. The nearest school listed as international is Bilingual School Lucca, 50 km away.
Information, not medical advice. Confirm with a professional.
Taxes
A home that is not your main one pays 1.06% a year in property tax at the 2025 rate, charged on the cadastral value rather than the price. A main home pays none unless it is in a luxury category. The town adds between 0.6% and 0.75% to your income tax, depending on your income, with nothing due on income under €10,000. 7% pensioner tax: this town is not in a qualifying area.
Information, not tax advice. Confirm with a professional.
What it costs
The average household in Liguria spends about €2,230 a month, €490 of it on food, against about €2,170 across Italy. A family of three pays about €552 a year for water, on the Liguria average.
Climate and risk
It is in climate zone C, on a scale from A, the warmest, to F, the coldest, and heating may run from November 15 to March 31, up to 10 hours a day, unless the mayor changes it. 46% of residents live in a zone the national maps rate high for floods, 63% in a high or medium one. Under 1% live in a zone rated high or very high for landslides.
These shares cover the whole comune, not any one street. Check an address on IdroGEO.
Moving from abroad? Which visa you need. Sources: ISTAT, the Ministry of Health, ISPRA, the Finance Ministry, the Ministry of Enterprise, Poste Italiane, the comuni, the IB, International Schools Database, Il Sole 24 Ore, Cittadinanzattiva.
Known for
BISHOPS OF LUNI
Episcopal fief from the diploma of Otto I in 963 until the fifteenth century, the southernmost outpost of the Luni diocese.
DANTE AT BOCCA DI MAGRA
A letter copied by Boccaccio places the poet at the Santa Croce del Corvo monastery around 1314, though scholars dispute its authenticity.
MAGRA ESTUARY
River-meets-sea wetland and marina at Bocca di Magra, Punta Bianca and Punta Corvo headlands on the Gulf of Poets edge.
Common questions
- What is Ameglia known for?
- Ameglia is a hilltop borgo at 89 meters above the mouth of the Magra, the Lunigiana edge of Liguria where the river meets the Gulf of Poets.
- Where is Ameglia?
- Ameglia is a comune in the province of La Spezia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Ameglia?
- The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Pisa (PSA), about 1 h 9 min by car.
- How long is the drive from Pisa to Ameglia?
- About 1 h by car.
- When is the best time to visit Ameglia?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Ameglia?
- Bogliasco, Levanto and Portovenere.
- How many people live in Ameglia?
- 4,262 residents, by ISTAT's count on 1 January 2025.
- Is Ameglia a good place to live?
- By the rules in our Where to Move in Italy series, Ameglia is a village with a town of 5,000 people within 15 minutes (Sarzana, 11 min). The nearest city, Carrara, is 23 min away by car. The nearest national health service hospital is in Sarzana, 5 km as the crow flies. Full fibre reaches 91% of homes.
Tags & data designations · numbers · sources
Recognized as
Landscape
The numbers
- Elevation: 89 m
- Population: 4,262
- Surface area: 14.17 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
The ranked lists
Lists Ameglia appears in
- The 6 best hidden coastal towns within 90 minutes of PisaNear Pisacoastalwithin 90 minhidden6 towns · smallest 3,201 residents · closest 38 min away
- The best coastal towns inside a nature park within 90 minutes of PisaNear Pisacoastalinside a parkwithin 90 min6 towns · smallest 3,201 residents · closest 29 min away
- The best hidden coastal towns in the province of La SpeziaLa Spezia provincecoastalhidden6 towns · smallest 553 residents
- The best small towns inside a nature park that eat well in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkeats wellsmall6 towns · smallest 351 residents
- The best towns inside a nature park that have a serious restaurant in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkserious restaurant6 towns · smallest 351 residents
- The prettiest villages inside a nature park in LiguriaLiguriainside a parkprettiest villages6 towns · smallest 389 residents
Near here, with a letter
- Written about. No. 20.
Sarzana
Province: La Spezia
The unofficial capital of the Lunigiana on the Magra plain, birthplace of Pope Niccolò V.
11 min by car
- Written about. No. 19.
Castelnuovo Magra
Province: La Spezia
A ridge village on the Liguria-Tuscany border where a marquisate treaty ended decades of conflict with the bishops of Luni.
12 min by car
- Written about. No. 53.
Portovenere
Province: La Spezia
A Genoese fortress guards the western mouth of the Gulf of Poets, above the rock where a Roman temple to Venus once stood.
10 km away
The letter
Ameglia got its letter. One town at a time, free. The photo, the food, the festa.
Paid plans, the moving year and the books are on the membership page.