Dolceacqua is a typical medieval village in the Nervia valley. The old town is dominated by the castle of the Doria family, Marquises of Dolceacqua, who resided there from 1276 to 1797; the modern part stretches out on the opposite bank of the Nervia stream, on either side of the road that cuts through the valley.

It’s a small town with just over 2,000 residents, but it’s rich in history, legends, traditions, art and culture. The oldest signs of settlement in the area date back to the Iron Age and are represented by the castellari, crude dry-stone fortifications consisting of concentric rings of walls that stood guard on the surrounding hills. Their remains are clearly visible to this day and can be visited.

The farmers’ hard work is evident in the terraced fields on the Ligurian hills, with dry-stone walls built to wrest small spaces from the land to till the soil and plant vines and olive trees. In fact, typical local products are the Taggiasca olive cultivar and the Rossese di Dolceacqua grape, which was granted D.O.C. status in 1971.

In addition to agricultural work, the history of Dolceacqua is rich in art and culture. Many nationally and internationally renowned artists come from this small town in the Nervia valley: notable painter Mario ‘Barbadirame’ Raimondo, a long-time pupil of Pablo Picasso, who often publicly praised him; Franco Giglio, an international artist specialising in mosaic murals, whose works have been exhibited and created in museums and city squares around the world; and Giovanni Morscio, a painter who was a success at the Salon des Indépendants in Paris and to whom we owe Dolceacqua’s Pinacoteca.