Monte Nero is a hamlet located on a hill overlooking the city of Livorno. Just for its beautiful landscape the inhabitants, with a slightly exaggerated and parochial rating, have called it "the Livorno's Fiesole, but finer than Florence's one, because it overlooks the sea ".
But the characteristic that makes Montenero unique in Tuscany is the Sanctuary, dedicated to Madonna delle Grazie (Our Lady of Grace): Pope Pio XII declared it protector of the city and Patron of the entire region, for the frequent miracles attributed to the Virgin (during earthquakes, tsunamis, pestilences, famines, wars as well accidents suffered by single citizens ...) and witnessed by some rooms filled with a lot of ex-votos.
The Sanctuary, built in the middle of the '300 in the highest part of the hill by Franciscan friars and then remodeled over the centuries, also houses numerous works by artists of Livorno, while outside tombstones and tombs remember the most illustrious fellow citizens: G. Fattori, A. Modigliani, P. Mascagni, etc.
Since the last centuries, for its religious characteristics, its salubrious air and the splendid panoramic view, Montenero has been visited by pilgrims, artists, curious, tourists of all levels and origins: G. Byron, P.B. Shelley, M. Wollstonecraft, U. Foscolo, C. Goldoni, Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III), A. Thorwaldsen ... Even today it is the favorite destination for Sunday jaunts or picnics