A stone's throw from the sea

the other riviera
Millesimo
…and a few churches
Millesimo’s two most evocative
churches are also well worth a visit:
the medieval Romanesque Parish
Church of Santa Maria Extramuros and,
on the road leading to Cengio, the
former Cistercian Monastery of Santo
Stefano. It was built in 1211 and
converted into a private home at the
beginning of the twentieth century, and
has a tower by Gino Coppedè and several
interesting frescoes. The round dome of
the solitary eighteenth-century Santuario
della Madonna del Deserto stands out
above the woods of the upper valley,
a few kilometres above the village.
Napoleon and
his museum
The Museo Mineralogico (Mineral
Museum) and the Museo
Napoleonico (Napoleonic Museum)
are housed in Villa Scarzella,
which was built near the castle
during the twentieth century.
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Protected nature
and prehistory…
The area between Millesimo and the
Santuario della Madonna del Deserto
(Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Desert)
is the starting point for paths that
cross the protected areas of the Tre Re
Valley and the Bric Tana, part of a
regional park with characteristic karst
formations, caves and sinkholes.
Excavations near the “Tana dell’Orpe”
cave have uncovered a rare Ligurian
Bronze-Age settlement, not far from a
group of menhirs with rock engravings.
Gourmet
Millesimo
Millesimo’s vicinity
to Piedmont can
also be deduced
from the fact
that it holds an
annual fair in honour
of white truffles, for the
quality of the local specimens
rivals those of Alba. Gourmet specialities
of the Bormida Valley include raw salami,
fazzini (potato bread) and frizze (or grive):
a local salami made from pork liver, sausage
meat and juniper berries (a local substitute
for the more expensive pepper). Another
speciality of the area is rice and leek tart.
Luciana Oliveri’s cheeses can be purchased
in Chiesa, whilst the Cooperativa Allevatori
Bestiame CAB (Livestock Farmers’
Cooperative) sells its meat at the OK Market.