Colli di Luni Territory

Today, Luni is a small town in view of the Ligurian Sea, sitting between the Cinque Terre and Carrara, of Michelangelo’s marbled fame. In fact, it was this strategic location in relation to Carrara that may have lead the ancient Romans to build a colony here in 177 BC. The harbor, whose crescent-moon shape possibly gave origins to the area’s name (luna is “moon” in Latin and Italian), was an important stopping point for marble to be shipped by sea from Carrara to Rome.

Luni grew from a small agricultural colony to an impressive city over the centuries, even though it was often raided due to its proximity to the sea. One legend demonstrates both Luni’s irresistible siren-call to invaders and its magnificence in later centuries: apparently, in 860, the Danish pirate Hastings landed in Luni, where he plundered and set the city aflame—all because he thought that the impressive and beautiful city must be Rome! Luni yo-yoed through periods of economic splendor and sudden declines in wealth and population (thanks, Hastings) until it was eventually abandoned.

The Luni gave their name not only to the modern-day city, but also to the Lunigiana valley between Liguria and Tuscany, the wine zone Colli di Luni (Hills of Luni), and even to a winery that sits not five minutes away from the site: Lunae.