Tom`s travels: Triora, Montalto Ligure, Badalucco & Lingueglietta (04/08/2021)

We left Riva Ligure on a cloudy day to do another day trip and visit some towns along the Argentina valley. Our first stop was the small town of Triora, located high up the valley, on a hilltop at 780m above sea level, surrounded by mountains. It is part of the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy and features a nice old town made up of grey and brown stone buildings. After parking the car in a spot along the main road we then got off and headed to the old town on foot to visit. As we headed uphill through the picturesque narrow streets we noticed a lot of decorations, graffiti, and other things referencing witches. In fact, the town is known around the country for being the capital of the witches and on the first Sunday after Ferragosto there is also a feast dedicated to witchcraft called Strigora. This is because between 1587 and 1589 a judicial proceeding took place in Triora in which some women were accused of being the authors of enduring famine, resulting in the largest Italian witch hunt of the late sixteenth century, so fierce as to be nicknamed the "Salem of Italy". The stone architecture of the old town and the grey dreary weather of that day made it really fitting as a town of witches. As we walked around we passed some of the main monuments, such as the ruins of the 12th-century castle, at the highest point in town, and the neoclassical collegiate church of Nostra Signora Assunta in the town center. In front of it was the central square surrounded by beautiful old medieval stone buildings. After enjoying our stroll through the picturesque streets we then decided to stop at a local bakery and buy the traditional local bread, Pane di Triora. The town in fact is part of the association, Città del Pane, a group of towns and cities throughout Italy that produce their own traditional local bread. After purchasing the bread we then drove out of town and on the way stopped at the small town of Molini di Triora, just downhill from Triora but forming its own municipality. Here we visited the small pretty old town and the nice medieval stone bridge at the northern end of town, where until just recently was a tiny lake known as the Lago dei Noci which was unfortunately destroyed once the river which fed it, flooded and deviated thus taking away all its water. After walking around we got back in the car and driving further down the valley reached the town of Montalto Ligure, sitting on a hilltop. We walked around its pretty old town covered in stone houses and narrow streets, passing by the main church of San Giovanni Battista featuring a nice baroque facade and bell tower. We interestingly noticed that many houses had foreign names on their intercoms, guessing that it must be a summer resort for many northern Europeans, mostly British, Dutch, and German. That was a little sad to see because, in fact, the town looked rather empty as probably many of those homeowners from abroad hadn't come here due to the current pandemic situation. Once we completed our round of the town, we then got back in the car once again and after a short drive downhill reached the larger town of Badalucco. We just managed to find a spot in the large parking lot south of town, which was already full, and from there walked then through the old town. First, though we tried looking for a place to have lunch and managed to find a place inside the Taverna Canon D'Oro where we had a tasty meal. I had tortelloni filled with borragine, a type of plant, and covered in an amazing boar meat sauce while Ania had gnocchi with tomato sauce. The owner, together with his parents, came from Abruzzo when he was just a kid and has owned the place since. Badalucco, like other towns in the Argenta valley and coast nearby, is known for the large community of Abruzzese community, as many people came here after WWII to work in the flower business which the area was known for, and eventually decided to stay. After lunch, we decided to take a stroll around town and visit its pretty historical center. We passed through the narrow picturesque streets, stopping by the main church of Santa Maria Assunta e San Giorgio first, with its baroque facade, and the church of Nostra Signora Della Misericordia, built in a neoclassical style. We then reached the highlight of the town, the Ponte di Santa Lucia, a beautiful stone bridge over the Argenta river, dating from the end of the 16th century. From there we headed back to the car and after a bit of driving reached the last town of the day, Lingueglietta. Located on a hilltop close to the sea, this town is also part of the club of the most beautiful villages in Italy. After reaching the small town, we struggled to find a spot to park as the tiny parking lot up at the top was full, so we found a minor road heading slightly downhill where some people had already parked. We found a spot there and from there headed back to the town on foot. Most cars there had german, dutch, or french car plates, a common thing we noticed throughout our stay in the area as it was mostly filled with tourists from those areas. After reaching the old town we passed by the church of the Natività di Maria Vergine, a Romanesque church from the 13th century with a 17th-century baroque portal. We continued through the lovely caruggi, the typical narrow streets, sided by picturesque gray stone houses and pastel-colored ones. We then passed by another church, that of San Pietro, a beautiful example of a romanesque church that was transformed into a fortress, for defensive reasons, at the time of the Moorish raids that afflicted the Ligurian coast around the sixteenth century. It now features small turrets at its top corners and the facade looks more like a castle keep. We had toured the whole city center and it was time for us to go, so after getting back to the car, we finally drove in the direction of Riva Ligure, ending a nice day visiting some towns in the area.