Vara (river)

The Vara at Follo near the mouth of the Magra

The Vara is a river in the Italian region of Liguria. It runs exclusively in the province of La Spezia. With a length of 58 kilometers, the Vara is the longest river in Liguria.

Course

The Vara rises at the Monte Zatta, in the Ligurian Apennines, at an altitude of 1404 meters above sea level. It flows 58 kilometers in length, the Val di Vara, which it gives its name. At the headwaters of the river outflow of some man-made reservoir is interrupted and regulated. From the village of Borghetto di Vara to the mouth of the Magra Vara here the Riviera di Levante is parallel to the Ligurian coast. In the section between Borghetto di Vara and Varese Ligure the river bends slightly north.

The Vara opens in Santo Stefano di Magra in the Magra River, its largest right tributary it represents.

Geography

The Valley of Vara is administratively divided into two Comunità Montane, the Comunità Montana dell'Alta Val di Vara and the Comunità Montana della Bassa Val di Vara Media e. In the catchment area of ​​Vara are 15 municipalities: Beverino, Bolano, Borghetto di Vara, Brugnato, Calice al Cornoviglio, Carro, Carrodano, Follo, Maissana, Pignone, Riccò del Golfo di Spezia, Rocchetta di Vara, Sesta Godano, Varese Ligure and Zignago.

History

After Vara a battalion of partisan column Giustizia e Libertà was named, which resisted 1944-1945 in the valley and the surrounding mountains of the German Wehrmacht.

The river was at several times the scene of fierce fighting between local scale guerrilla groups and fascist and later German military units.

Attractions

• Ponte Romano, also called Ponte Roma Nico, antique bridge at Brugnato on the medieval road from Pontremoli to Sestri Levante. The bridge is probably of Roman origin, the oldest document of the bridge comes from 1660, when the bridge had to be repaired after flood.