The ingaune valleys

Val Neva

Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena

Ligurian medieval village remained intact in its original appearance. The view is very suggestive: the village perched on the slopes of the hill, on top of which the castle of the Clavesana family proudly stands, still today the visual reference point and the fulcrum around which the whole was developed inhabited.
It is pleasant to get lost in the narrow streets and tunnels of the historic center, where you can admire examples of typical houses / fortresses and the characteristic stone arches that support the houses to each other, a peculiar architectural element of the Ligurian villages. The Barbena fortress, with its 1090 m., Dominates the surrounding landscape, characterized by thick woods interspersed at lower altitudes with olive trees. The other road of the Ligurian mountains, the main regional excursion itinerary, passes from the Rocca with its stage number 12, while the path of Ilaria del Carretto is an easy and pleasant path that, from the parish of Castelvecchio, reaches in just 4 km the near the village of Zucarello.

Cisano

Former fortified village, today represented by a tower next to the Parish of Saint Mary Maddalena, transformed into a civic tower, while the remains of the ancient walls are still partly visible. The fraction of Conscente is characterized by the elegant profile of the ancient castle, one of the best preserved in the area, dating back to the fifteenth century and once belonged to the Marquis Rolandi Ricci del Carretto.
the climate and the natural environment favor the cultivation of extra virgin olive oil, typical local wines (Pigato in the first place), and dairy products, all specialties that can be tasted on site at the producers in the area or at the many farms and restaurants. The Municipality is included within the Environmental System of Poggio Grande, a naturalistic area with valuable flora and fauna; once used as a transhumance route for livestock, it leads in about an hour and a half to the summit of Pizzo Ceresa, which dominates, from its 710 m., the whole surrounding area, guaranteeing splendid views over the entire plain and sea.

Zuccarello

Fortified village still intact in its original architectural structure, with a porticoed street that runs through it in its entirety, a legacy of the commercial nature of the village. In the Middle Ages there were numerous shops that stood under the arcades, replaced today by bars, restaurants and shops. A splendid humpback bridge along the river and leads to the Door of Ponte, one of the accesses of the village together with Soprana Door and Sottana door: it is one of the best preserved medieval bridges in the whole region and is one of the symbols of Zuccarello. On the lower floor of the oratory of Santa Maria Nascente there is a veritable hidden gem: one of the smallest theaters in Italy. The castle, which pre-existed the foundation of Zuccarello, stands in a dominant position on the hill overlooking the village. From the castle passes the path that, in an hour's walk, leads to the nearby village of Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, a breathtaking itinerary for the scenic beauty, both for reasons of historical interest that unite the two villages.

Val Pennavaire

Castelbianco

It is the union of different villages, united by a homogeneous architectural structure. Oresine is the most "intimate" village, on the slopes of Mount Lapeau, where the protagonists are the chestnut woods. From Oresine it takes just a few steps to get to Colletta, the village that made Castelbianco famous in Italy and beyond; what was a fraction now abandoned and in ruins for decades, has been the subject of an admirable work of architectural recovery which, in respect of the architectural structures and original materials, has given the village its unique appearance, but projecting into the future. Today Castelbianco is half of a variegated tourism and many choose to go along one of the seven marked municipal paths that unite the different villages and allow to enjoy spectacular panoramas immersed in a truly uncontaminated nature. More and more numerous climbing enthusiasts choose Castelbianco as a starting point to tackle the numerous equipped walls found in the Valley. Typical products are cherries, in the native variety "Cantui Giancai and Cantui Negrai". The cultivation of olives and aromatic plants is also widespread.

Nasino

The beauty of this valley, with its dense forests, clear waterways and almost dolomitic limestone hills, is the background of this small rural village, which offers various ideas for a visit. Nasino offers a castle, of which two towers and some frescoes remain, and the parish church of San John the Baptist, which, despite a rather sober façade, houses valuable frescoes and numerous baroque altars. The Sanctuary of the Nativity of the Virgin, in the area of ​​the Madonna di Curagna, impresses with its octagonal plan and the other dome, which make it one of the most unique buildings of worship in the area. From Nasino the Street of the High Lands passes, one of the most important Ligurian hiking trails, with stages 4 and 5, Ponterotto / Nasino and Nasino / Erli; a good opportunity for sports enthusiasts and trekk lovers to actively discover this wonderful area, dotted with thick woods and olive groves

Valle Arroscia

Ortovero

In Ortovero one of the four locations of the Enoteca Regionale della Liguria is located, where you can taste and buy local wines (the white Pigato and Vermentino and the reds Rossese and Ormeasco) and others the other wines produced in other areas of Liguria, both east that of west. Other fruits that this lucky territory offers are peaches and fruit and vegetables, extra virgin olive oil and magnificent flowers and plants grown outdoors and in greenhouses. The main township of Strà reveals its most original character is suggestive in the most ancient part of the inhabited area, the one that rises right in a shelter of the course of the Arroscia, where you can fully breathe the atmosphere of the Ligurian villages characterized by narrow streets and houses leaning against each other.

Going up the Valley, after only two kilometers, you reach Pogli, the most important village of Ortovero, a fortified town in the city of Albenga in 1288 for defensive purposes, as an outpost for a barrier at the mouth of the Arroscia Valley. Two towers are still easily recognizable, while little remains of the ancient walls. Pogli was the birthplace of Fra Ave Maria in 1900, a hermit of Divine Providence who was going blind due to an accident as a boy, born of the church as a Venerable. In Pogli his birthplace is visible in the center of the village. During Holy Week there are important rituals that have entered the religious and folk tradition of Ortovero, such as the blessing and distribution of the bread on Holy Thursday and the Procession of the Balzo on Friday morning, determined in the evening by the procession with the dead Christ and the characteristic crucifixes art. As already mentioned, ortovero stands on particular sandy and clayey soils, rich in fossils dating back to the Pliocene, which have the name of Argille di Ortovero, and which can be included in the Rio Marassano area, just beyond the hamlet of Pozzo: The valuable natural context dotted with paths and trails, see also trekking that in the end also sees the presence of a marsh turtle endemic to the area.

Val Lerrone

Villanova d'Albenga

The built-up area, built with a polygonal layout, is still mostly in the ancient city walls with the presence of the ten towers and the access gates. At the center of the village, it preserves the medieval well, which became the symbol of Villanova and until the 1930s the only water distributor for the inhabitants, with vintage chains and buckets.
In the municipal area of ​​Villanova d'Albenga is the "Clemente Panero" International Airport, identified as an airport in Albenga and Savona

Garlenda

It is a small town of about 1,300 inhabitants, which has been able to balance the respect for agricultural tradition with the use of historical resources such as the Castle of the Sundial, with its important 18-hole golf course and landscape resources such as the ancient paths.
Garlenda enjoys a lively summer season rich in historical, gastronomic and sporting events; the great International Meeting of the Fiat 500 held in the first weekend of July is renowned