Comune Parodi Ligure

piazza Municipio, 5 - 15060 Parodi Ligure (AL)
Tel. +39 (0143) 681.105
E-mail: info@comune.parodiligure.al.it
https://www.comune.parodiligure.al.it/it-it/home
Website: www.comune.parodiligure.al.it/it-it/home

Parodi Ligure is nestled among the last hills between Gavi and Ovada, before meeting the Ligurian Apennines, in the province of Alessandria. Despite its name, the village lies in the region of Piedmont.

It is strategically located, being a point of passage of the ancient Vie Marenche created during Roman times to connect the lowland to the sea and then reach France. These were trade routes, trails and mule tracks used to transport goods, especially salt. Today they are well signposted and can be traveled on foot, by mountain bike and also by motorbike.

The territory of Parodi was part of the Marca of the Obertengo family, of Lombard descent, and its name is mentioned for the first time in the mid-10th century.

The history of the village is long and highly articulate. Its geographical position appealed to many, first and foremost the Genoese and then the Visconti of Mantua, the Doria becoming part of the Genoese Republic and later involved in many wars above all against the Franco-Savoy. In 1805, it was annexed to Napoleon's France, then with the congress of Vienna, Genoa disappears becoming part of the kingdom of Sardinia. Only in 1859, during the reorganization of the Piedmontese state, Parodi begins to free itself from Genoa to which it will however remain connected for many years to come. In the past, the village had been dominated by the 11th century castle and protected a century later by a wall. Of these works, almost no trace remains; the castle was destroyed in 1625 during the war against the French and the Savoy and definitively razed to the ground by the Austrians a century later.

In the center there is the ancient Church of San Rocco which has been modified many times over the centuries. The most important religious complex of the municipality, namely the Monastery of San Remigio, is located outside the village.

The complex was built close to the River Albedosa in a marshy area which extended to the urban area and which the Benedictine fathers reclaimed. The term Palaude which later became Parodi, directly refers to the presence of the
already mentioned marshes. The land had been given to the Benedictines by the Obertenghi in 1033 and they built the monastery dedicated to San Remigio, after having made the valley fertile and the environment healthy.

The few written documents that refer to it date back to 1143. From then on, the monastery begins to grow in importance and prestige, becoming
appetizing to the various Genoese lords and patricians. Its importance as a religious center increases over the centuries, the monastery becomes the Parish church of the village and is enlarged with the addition of the lateral naves until the places starts to appear inconvenient being so far from the village. Abandoned, the monastery began to deteriorate and partially collapse.

In 1982, it was donated to the Municipality of Parodi which began restoration work on it. It was definitively made safe in 2010 and is now open to visitors. The church is deconsecrated and the interior is used to host cultural events, during which the majority of the ancient environments are free to access.