The town's name means "house of Mocco," named after a Roman jurist. It is a municipality in the province of Genoa, located in Val Fontanabuona, near the river Lavagna and Mount Caucasus. It seems that the family of the famous Genoese navigator Christopher Columbus come from Moconesi. The town's economy is primarily related to the trade and the extraction of slate stone. The districts of Ferrada and Gattorna feature various small and medium-sized craft enterprises, and particularly Gattorna, is famous for the manufacture of traditional toys, such as windmills, that have become a symbol for the local inhabitants.
The discovery of prehistoric remains dating from the Mesolithic Ages, attest that the area was already inhabited in ancient times. Subjected for a long period under the dominion of the Fieschi di Lavagna, Moconesi became a territory of the Republic of Genoa in 1147: at first it was included in Podesteria Neirone and Roccatagliata and subsequently in the Captaincy of Rapallo. Like other towns in Liguria it suffered the invasion and domination of the French troops of Napoleon Bonaparte. The town followed the fate of other towns in Liguria passing first under the control of the Kingdom of Sardinia, after the Congress of Vienna that was held in 1814 and then to the Kingdom of Italy.
Not to miss:
The Sanctuary of Nostra Signora della Guardia and San Giacomo in Gattorna. The current structure dates back to 1721, but we have evidence of its existence already in the second half of 1400. It presents, like many churches in Liguria, a façade that features a double series of overlapping columns dominated by a tympanum, it has a central dome and a tower located behind it. Inside, a XVI century triptych attributed to Vespasian.
The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Santa Margherita, which is located between the villages of Ferrada and Terrarossa Colombo and features a façade topped by a small pediment and decorated with columns.
The Church entitled to St Anne in the village of Ferrada which refurbished and enlarged in the first half of the XVII century presents a relatively simple façade with two rows of superimposed columns. It is flanked by a high square shaped Bell tower.
The Chapels of Pezzonasca, San Rocco and San Giuseppe.
The Church of Santa Margherita in Moconesi Alto.