The Val di Magra (Magra Valley) is rightly dubbed a "boundary region", because its two provinces belong to two different regions: La Spezia is in Ligury, while Massa-Carrara belongs to Tuscany. However, Val di Magra has also its own cultural and historical identity and independent feel its inhabitants. By Val di Magra it is usually meant the area of the Magra River and of its tributaries, a region partly coinciding with the Lunigiana, historical region occupied by old Luni's diocese.

The Magra river shaped this land and is thus a common feature in a great variety of landscapes: going up the river one goes from Ameglia, old medieval village near the sea, to Pontremoli, elegant little town up in the mountains. From the rocky cost of Ligury, or from the flat Tuscan beaches, one can quickly reach the Appennini and the jagged peaks of Alpi Apuane, travelling through green plains rich in old castles and in medieval towns.

Sarzana, ancient town still encircled by medieval walls, is the main city of the valley; it is an important center for commerce, agriculture and handcraft. Culturally very alive, Sarzana is one of the main centres in Italy for antique-trade. We divided the territory of the valle according to the administrative partition, that is by comuni (communes, districts), specifying also the province they belong to. Other small villages or places are added both in the page of their commune and in a special section called "Other places ".

Most of the centres are located along the Magra River, which is a great resort for fishing and can be explored by boat. The whole valley is a wonderful, variegated countryside rich in gardens, olive trees and pine-trees (in the plains), oaks, chestnuts and ash-trees (on the mountains); it offers a chance for living in a green and uncontaminated nature, between the sea and the mountains.