For many centuries, streams and abundant water encouraged the establishment of paper mills. This industry arose in the 15th century and developed to such an extent that, by the 1700s, there were 60 paper mills in the area, each specializing in a particular production: fine and watermarked paper, paper for royal documents, and paper for food.

Paper was made from linen and hemp rags, which, mixed with water, were beaten into piles, moved by the force of falling water into stone or marble basins. The frayed rags became mush, called “pisto,” which, passed through looms and felts, was transformed into paper.

Testimony to the ancient knowledge of papermaking art meant that the Old Sbaraggia Paper Mill, built in 1756in the hamlet of Acquasanta, remained active until 1985 and later became a museum.

The museum tour follows the journey that rags took to become new paper. The museum rooms are in fact the rooms of the mill and the paper mill itself, and even today, as if time has stood still, the machinery in use until 1985 is visible.

In the tour, the Master Papermaker illustrates all aspects of this ancient activity, up to the making of a real handmade sheet of paper.

The baths, nestled in the beautiful setting of the Apennines, are located in the hamlet of Acquasanta and in the municipality of Genoa Voltri. They are still functioning in both winter and summer, and are recommended for pathologies of the airways.

This oratory dates back to the 16th century, when the nobleman Marco Cattaneo, vicar of the Archbishop of Genoa, empowered the men of Mele, to make a casaccia in honor of St. Anthony (1756).

The interior is decorated with twelve paintings illustrating the life of St. Anthony the Abbot, executed by Carlo Giuseppe Ratti (Savona, 1737-Genoa, 1795) beginning in 1777, set in Rocco Cantoni’s stucco work, which incorporates floral motifs then in vogue.

The oldest processional case kept here was carved by an unknown Genoese carver in 1639, while the most valuable is the one made by Anton Maria Maragliano in 1739, purchased in 1874, following the demolition of the namesake Oratory of St. Anthony in Genoa.

In 1775, a Roccatagliata organ was installed, taken over by the parish church. In the late 1800s, it was replaced by the present organ commissioned from Giacomo Locatelli.

Also notable is the wooden choir, consisting of 20 stalls dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

The history of the shrine has remote origins, linked to the presence in the area of sulfur water, once considered miraculous. It seems that an early church existed as early as the 11th century, built near the spring following the prodigious discovery of a statue of Our Lady, probably, on the ruins of a pagan temple dedicated to the nymph Eja.

Construction work on the shrine began in 1683, and valuable works were collected there by such artists as Anton Maria Maragliano and Francesco Maria Schiaffino (Genoa, 1689-1765), another important Genoese sculptor.

In 1832, it hosted the wedding of Maria Christina of Savoy and Ferdinand II of Bourbon.

The facade features several works. In the central compartment is a fresco depicting the Assumption; inside the niches are statues of Saints Peter and Paul, the Venerable Maria Cristina of Savoy, and the Venerable Giovanna Maria Battista Solimani: all of these works were created by Giovanni Battista Traverso. Two plaques commemorate the marriage of Ferdinand and Maria Cristina and the visit of Pope Benedict XV, when he was still Bishop of Bologna.

The high altar is by Francesco Maria Schiaffino, while the statue of the Madonna is by Tomaso Orsolino (17th century).

On either side of the two columns of the high altar are two statues depicting St. Anne and St. Joachim sculpted by Pier Giuseppe Saggini in 1814.

Then there is the Altar of the Papermakers, offered by the papermakers to their patron saints.

Before reaching the Shrine, there is the Little Chapel of the Apparition which houses the ancient Statue of the Virgin.