An itinerary to discover the Riviera dei Fiori

The next stops are the towns of Apricale and Pigna.

Apricale offers a fairytale atmosphere, with its narrow paths that climb up the hill. Almost all the streets lead to the main square called Torracca, the pulsating centre of Apricale’s life, where cafès and restaurants serve local food. Among the monuments not to be missed there is the Church of the purification of the Virgin Mary, whose entrance, rebuilt during the second half of the eighteenth century, today overlooks the Torracca; and the castle of the Lizard: built on a spur of rock, in the past the castle dominated almost the whole village from the top of its towers which made it very similar to the castle of Dolceacqua. The only tower still standing has become the bell tower of the nearby church. The name of the castle perhaps comes from the shape of the structure, which resembles a lizard basking in the sun. In August every year, a famous travelling show of the Teatro della Tosse in Genoa takes place here.

Pigna is completely immersed in the upper Nervia Valley and is a centre with a characteristic medieval look, crossed by a dense network of alleys that connect the streets arranged concentrically on the steep slope. Here there are a few spots worth a stop: the fifteenth-century Church of San Michele Arcangelo, which boasts a remarkable marble rose window on the façade and inside a monumental polyptych by Giovanni Canavesio; and the small Church of San Bernardo, where other splendid frescoes by Canavesio are preserved. A little further on, in Castelvittorio, we recommend the Italia restaurant, a historic place of the town now back in vogue thanks to the love for the territory of the new generation.