Château de Montmarin was built in 1760 by Aaron Magon, Squire of the Château du Bosq. It is the only 'Malouiniè' (the typical 18th century summer résidence of rich ship-owners and merchants from Saint-Malo) to be located on th left bank of the Rance, with a magnificent panoramic view across the estuary. An Imposing classic gateway opens on to the Court of Honor ornemented by a splendid 18th century fountain in white Carrare marble. The restrained classicism of the entrance side of the housse is in striking conytrast with the fanciful Louis XV elegance of the main façade facing the Rance with its pavilions rooped in the shape open upturned.
The 6 hestares park is praised by the writers of the period, Madame de Genlis, and Chateaubriand, slopes gently down to the Rance in a series of terraces. In front of the house, the French formal garden, pratically unchanged since the day it was designed, overlooks the park, laid out in 1885 in the English style, with its historic trees, wide lawns, thickets, rock-garden, ans flowering borders.Each year, new varieties of plants and trees are added to already considerable collection.
References:Manarola is a small town, a frazione of the comune of Riomaggiore. It is the second-smallest of the famous Cinque Terre towns frequented by tourists, with a population of 353.
Manarola may be the oldest of the towns in the Cinque Terre, with the cornerstone of the church, San Lorenzo, dating from 1338. The local dialect is Manarolese, which is marginally different from the dialects in the nearby area. The name 'Manarola' is probably a dialectical evolution of the Latin, 'magna rota'. In the Manarolese dialect this was changed to 'magna roea' which means 'large wheel', in reference to the mill wheel in the town.
Manarola's primary industries have traditionally been fishing and wine-making. The local wine, called Sciacchetrà, is especially renowned; references from Roman writings mention the high quality of the wine produced in the region.