Calizzano
From the Middle Paleolithic to the Roman era
Hello friends, today I will talk to you about the history of Calizzano, a town in Liguria with 1412 inhabitants. The territory where the town is located dates back to the Middle Paleolithic, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of a pre-Roman fortress between Calizzano and Bardineto. During the Roman era, the area was crossed by an important military road that connected the Alps to other regions of Italy.
From the Middle Ages to modern times
During the Middle Ages, Calizzano was contested between the cities of Genoa and Savona, until at the end of the fifteenth century, it definitively passed under the control of the Savonese. In the seventeenth century, the town enjoyed a period of splendor thanks to the activity of merchants who transported goods along the caravan routes that connected Liguria to Piedmont. In the nineteenth century, however, Calizzano stood out for the production of silk, which represented one of the main economic activities until the end of the century.
The presence of the Church
The presence of the Catholic Church has played an important role in the history of Calizzano, exerting a great influence on the social and cultural life of the town. Among the main architectural works of artistic value, there is the small Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista, built between the eleventh and twelfth centuries. But the center is distinguished by the great size of the Parish Church of San Lorenzo, built between 1650 and 1683. The single-nave interior houses interesting works of art: the polyptych of the main altar, the canvases by Giuseppe Palmieri, and the wooden statues of the Dead Christ and the Sorrowful Virgin, made by the school of Anton Maria Maragliano.
The territory and climate
Let's now talk about the territory and climate of Calizzano. The town is located in the upper Bormida valley, in the Ligurian hinterland of the Riviera di Ponente, on the border between Liguria and Piedmont, and is surrounded by mountains, offering a breathtaking landscape. The presence of numerous springs makes the municipality rich in water, such as the Bauda spring used in bottling activity. Despite its proximity to the sea, Calizzano enjoys a semi-continental, degraded oceanic temperate climate, characterized by strong daily temperature variations throughout the year and moderate annual variations.
Events and traditions
The town of Calizzano is also known for some events and traditions that have become unmissable appointments for its inhabitants and tourists who decide to visit the municipality over the years. Among these, the Carnival Madonna Festival stands out, which takes place every year in February and represents one of the most important moments of the year for the Calizzanese community. On this occasion, the streets of the town fill with celebration and colors, thanks to the parades of allegorical floats that take part in the parade.
What to visit
Monuments and museums
If you decide to visit Calizzano, you can admire numerous monuments of great historical and architectural interest, such as the Parish Church of San Lorenzo and the Romanesque church of San Giovanni Battista. For art and history lovers, numerous museums are open, including the Museum of Peasant Culture and the one of Prehistory, where interesting relics can be found that tell the life of our ancestors.
The territory
But if you love nature and the landscape, you cannot miss the opportunity to discover the surroundings of Calizzano, inhabited by a rich flora and fauna. You can walk in the large beech forest of the Colle del Melogno, visit the forest called Barbottina and admire the huge chestnut tree near the Rionero wood.
I hope that this brief tour of the history and territory of Calizzano has made you appreciate the beauties of this Ligurian municipality, which boasts a great tradition and an important presence of the Church, but at the same time offers visitors the opportunity to discover an uncontaminated and still little known landscape.
