LucadeaLuca is the creator of this site. He travels the world for work and loves taking photographs and sharing them with all his visitors.

The center of Mattarana village in Liguria.
Walking along Aldo Moro street in Mattarana, in the province of La Spezia, Liguria, Italy, I photographed the heart of this small inland village, a straight caruggio surrounded by the houses that make up the old center. Among the things worth seeing in Liguria there are not only the famous coastal towns, but also these quiet villages where a street, a church, and a few houses can still tell the story of a local community.
I visited Mattarana for the first time last year and, to be honest, I did not know this village very well before arriving. My curiosity started from the possibility of stopping for a meal at a local trattoria, but once I was there I decided to take some time to walk around without rushing and explore the village with my camera.
What caught my attention most was the structure of the old center. The main caruggio crosses the village in an almost perfect straight line, with houses built along both sides of the street and a perspective that naturally leads the eye through the settlement. It is a simple view, but one that immediately communicates the atmosphere of a small Ligurian village.
The word caruggio belongs to the Ligurian tradition and describes a narrow street or alley, often the main passage through historic villages. In many towns across the region, these streets were the center of everyday life, where people met and where the activities of the community developed.
Mattarana is a small hamlet of the municipality of Carrodano, in the inland area of the La Spezia province, and it still preserves the typical layout of Ligurian villages. The presence of the church and the houses gathered around the main street shows how the village developed following a simple and practical structure.
This photograph represents exactly why I enjoy exploring lesser-known places. After sharing many views of the Ligurian coast, I also like to discover inland villages where architecture and everyday details reveal another side of the region.
Mattarana gave me the feeling of a peaceful place where a simple walk along the caruggio is enough to discover the authentic character of the village.

Have you ever visited Mattarana or another small village in the Ligurian countryside? Add a comment or go to the bottom of the site to read what other visitors have written.

Photos taken with a Canon EOS RP camera and Canon RF 24-50 lens.

To see all the photos I took in the village, click here:

Here is where the village is located:

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