The village of Fontia is a hamlet set on one of the very first hills of Carrara, on the border with Liguria, with the towns of Sarzana and Luni. This position straddling the two territories allowed it to develop fully only in the 16th century, following the peace between the Republic of Genoa and the Cybo Malaspina family, lords of Carrara; to be clear about the liminal dimension that the village found itself living, it is enough to consider that if politically it was linked to the seigniory of Carrara it was, however, the chapter of the cathedral of Sarzana that appointed its parish priests, in fact in a document of 1475 the marquis of Massa, Giacomo I Malaspina begs the bishop of the Ligurian city to allow the revenues of the church itself to remain in Fontia to support the works on the church itself; another clarifying aspect of Fontia’s particular condition is that the road connecting it with Carrara was only built in 1885.
The small village, which at its peak came to have about a thousand inhabitants as opposed to about two hundred today, is characterized by narrow streets and alleys, often in tunnels, dotted with marble works and votive majesties. On St. Nicholas Street one can admire a valuable Crucifix with the three Marys and a relief depicting St. Anthony from 1639.
Continuing on, one arrives at the beautiful church of San Niccolò, in the heart of the village; its bell tower towering among the houses is a landmark and identity of the village.
The church was built in the 14th century; the entrance, surmounted by a choir on marble columns, introduces us to the church’s single nave, and immediately we notice the side arches with the Purgatory and Suffrage altars.
Notable are the 16th-century baptismal font, the high altar made of polychrome marble and of very fine workmanship, and the simple yet beautiful pulpit of white statuary marble.
From Fontia in a few minutes’ walk, following the provincial road, you reach the terrace of Santa Lucia, a wonderful vantage point from where you can enjoy fabulous sunsets admiring on one side the Apuan Alps and on the other the plain of Luni, with the mouth of the Magra River.
Part of the terrace is occupied by usna church dedicated to the saint who gives her name to the place, built in the 17th century it was initially a simple oratory serving only the local cemetery, then it became an ordinary place of worship. Because of its location, the place was chosen by the Nazis to install a lookout post there to give directions to the cannons placed at Punta Bianca, at the end of Monte Marcello, the promontory bordering the Gulf of La Spezia to the north. The terrace was bombed by the Nazis themselves after the Allies liberated the area, and the church was destroyed. It was rebuilt on the same site in 1965 and houses a painting by Arturo Dazzi: the “Angel of Peace.”