Bonassola

Bonassola
Country	Italy
region	Liguria
province	La Spezia  (SP)
Coordinates	44 ° 11 '  N , 9 ° 35'  E Coordinates: 44 ° 11 '0 "  N , 9 ° 35' 0"  E
height	5  m slm
surface	9.31 km²
Residents	836 (Dec. 31, 2019)
Population density	90 inhabitants / km²
Post Code	19011
prefix	0187
ISTAT number	011005
Popular name	Bonassolesi
Patron saint	Catherine of Siena
Website	www.comune.bonassola.sp.it

Bonassola (in Ligurian : Bonasseua ) is an Italian commune with 836 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2019) in the Liguria region . Politically it belongs to the province of La Spezia .

Bonassola Bay

geography

The municipality is located in a small bay on the Riviera di Levante and is surrounded by a chain of hills. On the surrounding slopes, pine trees grow on the typical olive and wine terraces. Bonassola was built on five kilometers of alluvial land . The municipal area includes seven historic village centers: in the western section, on the slopes of Monte Brino, are the centers of Montaretto and Reggimonti ; above the bay are San Giorgio , Costella and Serra , and in the eastern section, at Monte Rossola , are Poggio and Scerno .

history

Emergence

The town of Bonassola is mentioned by name for the first time in a notarized document dated January 29, 1269. However, there are documents from the time of the Roman Empire in which the valley in connection with the Via Ligurum ("Strait of Liguria") is already known as " Vallis Bonazolae ”. According to the census of the Republic of Genoa from 1531, the approximately 300 inhabitants of Bonassola were predominantly sailors and farmers. Among other things, olive oil (mainly to Milan), wine (mainly to Genoa) and chestnuts were exported. On May 2nd, 1560 Turkish pirates attacked the place, 53 residents of Bonassola were arrested by the pirates. However, no defense system was set up in the years that followed.

The population increase to 900 people in 1670 is to be seen in connection with the flourishing economy, in particular the growing of wine, lemons, mulberries and figs. Numerous oil mills worked in the area between the coast and Montaretto. Due to the increase in shipping, a temporary high point in population development was reached in 1802 with 1293 inhabitants. In particular, the French occupation (1799) and the British ship blockade (1806) put a strain on the development of Bonassola.

19th century

Marble was discovered by chance during road construction work in 1832, the quarrying of which brought numerous quarry workers to Bonassola in the following years. The opening of the Pisa-La Spezia-Genoa railway line through the town in 1872 fundamentally changed Bonassola, in particular due to the associated decline in shipping and the end of the extensive isolation in which the town had been previously.

20th and 21st centuries

Agriculture declined drastically in the 20th century, and the marble vein also became increasingly exhausted.

On June 29, 1943, the freighter Bolzaneto (2220 gross tons) was shot at by a British submarine with torpedoes and sunk, the remains of the ship lie at a depth of 40 to 55 meters off the coast northwest of Bonassola. The freighter loaded with pig iron was on its way from Marina di Carrara to Genoa.

On March 22, 1944, two US officers and 13 soldiers landed northwest of Bonassola at Sca Bay to destroy the railway line tunnels. The action of the 2677th OSS was part of Operation Strangle, the aim of which was to interrupt the flow of materials to the Cassino front .

From 1963 the railway line was expanded to double tracks and moved further into the mountain. The population decline across Liguria also reaches Bonassola. Tourism is emerging as a new source of income; the basic infrastructure and retail stores are available in Bonassola.

On January 16, 1965, freight train 6178 exploded in Bonassola station. The local train 1702, which also stopped at the station, was hit by the explosion. A total of nine people lost their lives. There were 48 injured. The explosion occurred when explosives were ignited that were needed to build a railway line at Bonassola – Framura.

Until 2009 Bonassola was part of the now dissolved Comunità Montana della Riviera Spezzina .

traffic

Bike and footpath between Levanto and Bonassola

The town has a railway station on the Pisa – Genoa railway line , which can be used to reach La Spezia and Sestri Levante as well as the Cinque Terre , which are interesting for tourists, in close succession.

In 2011, a new bicycle and footpath was built on the disused railway line, the Ciclopedonale Maremonti . It connects the localities of Levanto , Bonassola and Framura . In this way, the communities are connected to one another almost without a gradient.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Statistiche demografiche ISTAT. Monthly population statistics of the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica , as of December 31 of 2019.
2. ^ History of the rapid cycle route , (Italian), ciclopedonalemaremonti website for the Maremonti coastal cycle route, accessed on April 24, 2018.

Web links

Commons : Bonassola  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Comunità Montana della Riviera Spezzina