And into Italy and more particularly the province of Savona in Liguria. We were headed east to avoid the impending rain and stopped at the small town of Ceriale (a little over 5,500 inhabitants) on the Riviera i Ponente.
My first thoughts as I set off to explore Ceriale was one of disappointment but, my fault, I had chosen to walk into the town via the sea front and I’ve rarely been impressed by Italian beaches. Don’t misunderstand me, it isn’t that Italy doesn’t have attractive beaches. They have some quite spectacular beaches but; most of the Italian coastline has been sold off and is privately owned. The result is that public beaches are few and far between and rarely well cared for. Those I saw in Ceriale are truly awful. The same can be said of many of the private beaches out of season. The walk to the town centre took me past the worst of Ceriale’s beaches and past countless half built blocks of flats; some of which don’t appear to have been touched in ages, so covered are they in graffiti. This was in total contrast to the tourist blurb I had read prior to starting my walk. I quote:- “The town is famous for its beautiful sandy beach… etc”. I’ll let you know.
Now, to keep things in perspective because there are usually two sides to every story, Ceriale was awarded a blue flag last year (and not for the first time); which suggests the water is clean and; that some of the beaches, at least during the high season, are well tended. Certainly, the beach near the historic town centre and those further on towards neighbouring Loano do look altogether nicer.
Just to the north of the pier on the sea front (Il Pontile) is the Piazza della Vittoria. It holds a few cafe-bars; a small fortress which once formed part of the town’s coastal defences (the Bastione i Ceriale) and; a Memorial to the town’s men who fell during World War I and; it is one of the prettier parts of the town. It’s the perfect place to sit with a glass of wine or a cup of coffee and watch the world go by. A little way behind the Piazza della Vittoria is the Parish Church of the Saints John the Baptist and Eugene (Chiesa dei Santi Giovanni e Eugenio) with it’s adjoining 16th century Civic Tower. This is the historic town centre of Ceriale.
The tower served as a lookout post for fear of pirates but it appears to have failed in this regard in 1637 when the town was sacked by Barbary Pirates led by an Algerian, Ciribi. Much of the town was destroyed. The church was plundered and badly damaged; many of the town’s citizens were killed and; 337 men, women and children were abducted and sold into slavery in what is now Algeria and Tunisia (most of them, never to be seen again). The town and the church were restored but a large wooden crucifix inside the church still has a hole in it from a shot fire by a pirate’s gun.
Having sat people-watching on the Piazza della Vittoria for a while I walked most of the old town with it’s charming narrow cobbled streets and pastel coloured buildings with terracotta roofs (rooves?).
I continued along the coast, past Castello Borelli, to the neighbouring town of Loano. Loano appeared to have better beaches than Ceriale but I wasn’t inclined to tarry there. Instead, I wandered up into the hills behind the town and made my way back into Ceriale using an excellent walker’s trail along the side of Monte Piccaro which afforded some fine views over Ceriale and along the coast.
A few words about Castello Borelli. It’s not a castle in the old fashioned sense although it may have started life that way. It was built in the late 19th century by an engineer, Borelli. To what end, I don’t know but it has since become something of a luxury resort. It comprises a hotel, restaurant, wellness centre and, within the castle walls, some 47 sea view residences. I’d have loved to seen inside.
At the beginning of this entry in my blog, I went in quite hard about Ceriale’s beaches (this can be explained in that privately owned beaches have long been a bete noire of mine) but; when all is said and done, this is an interesting little town and worth visiting. It is delightfully Italian (very Ligurian) and a fine place to chill with some interesting perspectives and not a little history. It is good to be back in Italy and thank you Ceriale