Comune Albera Ligure

Albera Ligure, a town of the Borbera Valley on the Albirola torrent, has ancient origins as is clear from the name of Ligurian derivation. “Albera” indicates the central area, namely the public place where the Ligurian agro-pastoral tribes dedicated to a semi-nomadic life gathered together; “alb” means city or urban centre.
Important for the medieval phase of Albera is the abbey of the Vendersi hamlet, later abandoned, in addition to the pieve, then parish church, in the built-up centre. Along the streets, there are visible remains of the walls and arches of the ancient architecture of the village; the visitor is invited to look carefully at these remains, which were then inserted into the new buildings of the village. The same overlapping of eras is clearly visible in the parish church of San Giovanni Battista, with several elements that precede the year 1000, such as the base of the bell tower, but forms restored in the 17th and 18th century, with a decidedly Genoese taste.


The S. Maria mill, built in the early years of the 19th century, but in an area where there has been evidence of a mill since the Middle Ages, is a valuable testimony to Ligurian mountain culture based on the values of saving and reuse: the wooden and masonry materials that make up the entire structure have been replaced, rearranged and reused many times. The mill moved by the water of the Albirola torrent, stored by a small reservoir, was restored several years ago at the request of the Town Council to regain full operation for both wheat and maize milling. It possesses two stone mills capable of working independently, both moved by a large wheel moved by the water of the weir that flows alongside the building.



Albera Ligure is one of the centres of the Borbera Valley, an ideal destination for those who love holidays in the open air and enjoy nature that is still truly unspoilt.