Finale Ligure

Finale Ligure offers typical Italian flair with its many cafés, shops, restaurants, bars and trattoria. Contributing to this flair is the fact that the town is split into 3 different towns, namely Finale Marina, Finalpia and Finalborgo. It is also well known among sports fans as one can surf, hike, mountain bike and its main claim to fame, free climb. The Rocca di Corno is a well known climb, topping out at 313 meters above the starting point.

Finale Marina has a wonderful old city with its many palazzi, a wonderful pedestrian zone and its many piazzas, such as the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. Here you will find an Italian Arc d’ Triumph, which was built in 1666 to honor Margarethe of Austria. If you take a stroll along the Via Roma you will come to the very interesting baroque church S. Giovanni Battista. On the east side of Finale Marina one can explore the old ruins of Castelfranco from the 14th century. The castle used to be situated right on the waterfront, but over time the coastline has changed. Now one can enjoy the new coastline with a pleasant stroll along the promenade.

Finalpia like Finale Marina is located on the coast and as such has wonderful sandy beaches. A historical point of interest and definitely worth seeing is the Santa Maria di Pia abbey, built in 1170 which has been well maintained and has a gorgeous Rococo façade. The belltower and cloisters scattered around town are all from the middle ages(16th century).

Finalborgo is located 2 km inland and cannot boast of beaches. It was however the residence of the margrave Del Carretto and thus was hub of political activity for the region for many years. The town is brimming with history and all of its churches, streets, city gates, defense walls and houses from the 15th century are all well maintained. The parish church of San Biagio (Baroque) and the Dominican monastery Santa Caterina, which was first used as a tomb for the margrave and later as a prison, are also worth a visit. If anything, a visit to the city museum (Museo Civico) is recommended and is open from 9am -12pm, 2:30pm – 4:40pm from October to May, and from 10am -12pm, 3pm – 6pm from June to September. Sundays and holidays it is open from 9am -12pm and it is always closed Mondays.

Above Finalborgo there are the ruins of Castel Gavone with the diamond tower built in the 12th century.

Not far away from the ruins is the small town of Perti which has a wonderful church Nostra Signora di Loreto after which the the Milanese Portinari Chapel was modeled and Sant’Eusebio (The key can be found in the Osteria Castel Gavone).