Albenga (Arbénga in Ligurian, Albingaunum in Latin) is an Italian town of 24 064 inhabitants in the province of Savona in Liguria. It is the second largest municipality and the second urban agglomeration of the province by population, pivot of an urban area of about 63,000 inhabitants, preceded only by the capital Savona. Albenga has the nickname of "City of a hundred towers".
The historic center of the city is pedestrianized.
Regions
Bastia
Campochiesa
Leca
Lusignan
Salea
San Fedele
The city of Albenga has one of the most evocative and
well-preserved historical centers of the western Ligurian Riviera,
for the most part still surrounded by walls and in which numerous
towers, palaces and other valuable medieval architecture stand out.
Preserved today in its ancient structures, it is comparable with
descriptions of past centuries such as that of 1739:
«...paved the whole length of cobblestones, of different colors,
arranged to represent animals, trophies, foliage...»
Religious architecture
Albenga Cathedral, dedicated to the
Archangel Michael in the historic center of Albenga. Popular
tradition has it that on the road that leads from Albenga to Alassio
there was a snake that killed anyone who passed by. The population
made a procession begging Saint Michael to kill the snake. During
the night a glow was seen coming from the sky and heading towards a
point on the road; the population hurried to find the snake killed.
It houses the remains of Saint Verano di Cavaillon. Built together
with the baptistery, it has been remodeled and enlarged over the
centuries; the apse and the towers flanking the bell tower are of
relevance. The cathedral of San Michele has been reproduced in the
itinerary of the Italia in Miniatura amusement park.
Early
Christian baptistery in the historic center of Ingau. From the 5th
century, it is the oldest building in Liguria still standing as well
as being one of the best preserved baptisteries in Italy thanks also
to the conservative restoration of the structure and the dome
carried out by the famous architect Alfredo d'Andrade towards the
end of the 19th century. Decagonal on the outside, while inside it
is octagonal. Inside the vault in a niche a polychrome mosaic is
depicted, while in the center there are the remains of the tub for
immersion baptism.
Church of Santa Maria in Fontibus in the
historic center of Ingauno. Built next to the cathedral, its origin
dates back to the early Middle Ages, but it underwent extensions and
reconstructions in the 14th century, between 1612 and 1625 and again
in the early years of the 20th century. Of particular artistic value
is the fourteenth-century splayed portal with small columns; the
fresco of the Madonna and Child is depicted in the lunette.
San
Domenico complex in the historic center of Ingauno. Located in the
square of the same name, the convent complex has now been converted
for residential and school use, but the remains of the 15th century
frescoes and related cloisters are still clearly visible.
Former
church of San Carlo in the historic center of Ingauno, from the 17th
century and deconsecrated and converted into an auditorium.
Basilica of San Vittore outside the historical center ingauno. Early
Christian building from the 4th and 5th centuries, built on the site
of a necropolis from the Roman imperial era. In the area of the
remains of the church, considered one of the oldest in Liguria,
archaeological excavations have recently been commissioned, thus
bringing to light the various phases of construction and extensions
from the 4th to the 10th century. The building is located, together
with the adjacent cemetery, near the sanctuary of Our Lady of
Pontelungo.
Basilica of San Calocero on the northern slopes of
Mount San Martino. The early Christian building, of which some
remains remain today, was built in the 4th century and from the 8th
century was entrusted to the religious care of the Benedictines of
the nearby Gallinara island. It then passed to the Benedictine nuns
from the 13th century until the 16th century when it was abandoned.
Ruins of the church and abbey of San Martino outside the historic
center of Ingauno. From the Middle Ages, seat on the mainland of the
Benedictines of Gallinara.
Parish church of the Sacred Heart
outside the historic center ingauno.
Church and convent of San
Bernardino di Siena in the Vadino region, founded in 1466.
Shrine
of Our Lady of Pontelungo outside the historical center of Ingauno.
The current sanctuary was erected in 1722 in front of the ancient
and now disappeared hospice at the bed of the Centa river along the
Via Aurelia between Albenga and Ceriale. Of Baroque construction,
with a sixteenth-century triptych by Giovanni Barbagelata. The
sanctuary is at the center of a great event which takes place in
early July. The event from which the re-enactment starts is what
happened on 2 July 1637, when the pirates landed in Ceriale,
marching on Albenga to plunder the city, were stopped by a violent
flash. The inexplicable phenomenon was attributed to a miraculous
intervention of the Madonna, venerated in the small church next to
the bridge, to protect the Guno people.
Parish church of the
Santissima Annunziata in the hamlet of Bastia. Located on the edge
of the hamlet, the foundation stone was laid on 23 May 1623.
Church of Santo Stefano di Massaro in the hamlet of Bastia.
Oratory of the Holy Cross in the hamlet of Bastia, located near the
parish church, seat of the confraternity of the same name
established towards the end of the 15th century.
Parish church of
San Giorgio in the hamlet of Campochiesa.
Parish church of Saints
Fabiano and Sebastiano in the historic center of Campochiesa.
Oratory of San Giovanni Battista in the historic center of
Campochiesa, next to the parish church, built in the second half of
the 15th century.
Parish church of Nostra Signora Assunta in the
hamlet of Leca d'Albenga, dating back to 1790.
Medieval church of
Santa Maria del Bossero, in the hamlet of Leca.
Parish church of
Santa Margherita d'Antiochia in Lusignano.
Oratory of San
Bartolomeo di Lusignano.
Parish church of Saints James the
Greater and Philip in the hamlet of Salea.
Parish church of Santi
Simone e Giuda in the hamlet of San Fedele, whose first layout dates
back to the 13th century.
Oratory of San Giovanni Battista from
1574, in the hamlet of San Fedele. Seat of the confraternity of the
same name, it preserves frescoes representing the Passion of Christ
executed in the 16th century by a Piedmontese painter.
Palazzo Vecchio and the Town Hall tower in the historic center of
Albenga. Inserted together with the municipal tower in an ancient
medieval complex, the structure was renovated in 1950 after the
demolition of the sub-prefecture building that united the three
buildings. The ground floor of the building can be dated to the 14th
century, while the upper floor underwent a reconstruction between 1387
and 1391. The facade has, towards the baptistery, a typical Ghibelline
battlement with two large access ramps. Since 1933 the Ingauno Civic
Museum has been housed in the building.
Bishop's Palace in the
historic center of Ingauno. Seat of the ancient curia and the local
museum of sacred art, it is a typical 11th century building with the
presence of a 13th century portal. The wing of the structure towards the
baptistery has highlighted, thanks to some studies and conservative
restorations in 1976, the various unified phases of restructuring that
the various bishops of the diocese carried out between the thirteenth
and fifteenth centuries, in particular by the monsignors Giovanni
Battista Cicala and Luca Fieschi. The black and white striped decoration
with a frescoed panel from 1463 was commissioned by Bishop Napoleone
Fieschi. The heraldic fresco is the work of the painter Giovanni
Canavesio from 1477.
Palazzo Costa Del Carretto of the Balestrino
branch in the historic center of Ingauno. Today called Palazzo
Vescovado, its construction took place in 1525 on an area previously
intended for the shoemakers' market, the forum callegariorum. In the
atrium of the building is preserved, among other Roman epigraphs, the
epigraph of General Costanzo commemorating the reconstruction of the
Ingauna city in 417 and those of Sabina Flaminica and P. Granius Hyla
from the 1st and 2nd centuries. The wooden coffered ceiling is from the
16th century.
Palazzo Peloso Cepolla in the historic center of
Ingauno, from the 16th century. The construction revolves around the
13th century corner tower and has a typical 16th century facade. In the
atrium there is a fresco portraying the Roman emperor Proculus of
Ingauna origin. The noble floor of the building is characterized by the
presence of notable Roman and Italian Renaissance marble busts. The
Roman naval museum has been set up here. The palace is the seat of the
ingauna section of the International Institute of Ligurian Studies.
Palazzo Scotto Niccolari in the historic center of Ingauno. The building
presents in its entirety a typical 16th century residence; the last
restoration can be dated back to 1980.
Oddo palace and tower in the
historic center of Ingauno. College until 1955, currently the
headquarters of Palazzo Oddo s.r.l.. The tower has a typical Ghibelline
crenellation. Inside there is the Civic Library, and the Don Antonio
Balletto fund.
Tower house of the Malasemenza family in the historic
center of Ingauno. The tower is now incorporated in today's town hall
and has a loggia with ogival mullioned windows.
Lengueglia Doria
tower house in the historic center of Ingauno, with three-mullioned
windows in the Gothic style.
Torre della Cio or della Paciotta in the
historic center of Ingau, from the 12th century with ashlars in the
upper base.
Torre Costa in the historical center of Ingauno. The
tower has a 12th-century base in Cisano stone ashlars, while the
14th-century upper part is in brick and crowned with a typical
Ghibelline battlement.
Torre Navone in the historic center of
Ingauno.
Casa Fieschi Ricci in the historic center of Ingauno. The
structure has a stone facing and single and double lancet windows in the
Romanesque style of the XII century; on the left side there is the
loggia with large mullioned windows from the 14th century and on the
façade a characteristic portal from the Renaissance era. The building
was restored in 1936.
Casa d'Aste Basso in the historic center of
Ingauno, with a 14th-century loggia.
Rolandi Ricci Auction House in
the historic center of Ingau, from the 14th century with a corner tower
from the 13th century. The renovation dates back to 1959-1961.
House
and tower of the Cepollinis in the historic center of Ingau, whose tower
was cut off following the earthquake of 1887.
Loggetta "dei Quattro
Canti" in the historic center of Ingauno. The loggia was opened in the
Middle Ages, perhaps in the 13th century, to widen the road system at
the crossroads of the two main roads. The structure has two ogival and
Romanesque arches.
Various noble houses in the hamlets of Leca,
Campochiesa, Lusignano and San Fedele.
Porta Molino in the historic center of Ingauno. The Roman via Julia
Augusta passed through this gate and this denomination would derive from
the presence of a mill that stood close to the ancient walls.
Porta
d'Arroscia in the ingauno historic center, located on the opposite side
of the Molino gate where the Roman road then continued inland.
Porta
Torlaro in the historical center of Ingauno. Near the walls protrudes a
bastion of the late Middle Ages called "il Torracco".
Porta del
Pertugio in the historic center of Ingauno, dominated by a
sixteenth-century machicolation.
Porta Marina in the ingauno historic
center, no longer existing today, was located at the southern entrance
of the ancient city, in the direction of the sea.
Pontelungo. Located outside the town of Albenga and near the Marian
sanctuary of the same name, the medieval origin of the ancient bridge
has been ascertained and attributed to the XIII century. The bridge is a
basement at the bed of the Centa river.
The Rosso bridge of Albenga
is the modern bridge over the Centa river; built with a single arch
without pillars in 1995 after the flood of 5 November 1994 destroyed the
old one.
Genoese fort of Albenga, built during the 16th century by the
Republic of Genoa.
"Piave" barracks in Albenga, where the 14th
Bersaglieri Sernaglia Battalion was stationed.
"Aldo Turinetto"
barracks where the 72nd "Puglie" Infantry Battalion was stationed.
Bunker at the mouth of the Centa river where the Martyrs of the Mouth
were tortured and exterminated
Castle of Bastia, in the homonymous
hamlet, whose construction would date back to the 13th century.
Military powder magazine in the Prato Grande Region, in the hamlet of
Campochiesa.
Ammunition depot in the Terraconiglio Uliveto Region, in
the hamlet of Salea.
The Roman Amphitheater of Albenga from the II-III century on the hill
called "del monte".
The necropolis, the funerary monuments and the
pylon, located a short distance from the amphitheater and close to Via
Julia Augusta.
The Roman Baths of Albenga from the Roman era. The
baths were recently discovered following excavations, located on the
right bank of the Centa river. In the bed of the river the bases of the
piles relating to an ancient aqueduct and other funerary monuments were
also found.
The Roman ship is located between Albenga and Gallinara
Island at a depth of 40 m. It is 40 m long and 12 m wide and carried
between 11,000 and 13,000 amphorae. Since the 1920s it was thought that
there was a ship from the Roman era because three amphorae had been
found a mile from the coast and forty meters deep by a fisherman. In
1948 they verified the presence of the ship, and the investigation
campaign was presented to the Ministry of Public Education: the campaign
began on February 8, 1950;
The Roman Villa of Lusignan.
Other
Lions Square. The small square, in front of and reachable by following
the left side of the cathedral of San Michele Arcangelo, is set between
the apse of the same cathedral, with single-lancet windows and gallery
on stone columns from the Finale of the XIII century, and between the
medieval houses of the noble family of the Costas. It was the Costa
counts themselves who brought from Rome in 1608 the three lions in
piperine stone and in the Renaissance style from which the square takes
its name.
In addition to numerous primary and lower secondary schools, Albenga
is home to the following institutes related to the upper secondary
school cycle:
Professional Institute for Agriculture and the
Environment "Domenico Aicardi".
"Galileo Galilei" State Industrial
Technical Institute.
"Giordano Bruno" State Scientific High School
with annexed classical section "Giovanni Pascoli".
Diocesan
Scholastic Center "Redemptoris Mater". Private institute, high school
with classical and socio-psychopedagogical section.
Diocesan
seminary, historic institution which for centuries, together with
Palazzo Oddo, has educated citizens. Currently active in the modern
headquarters commissioned by Angelo Cambiaso and active in the education
of future priests of the diocese of Albenga-Imperia.
University
Higher institute of religious sciences: (often abbreviated ISSR) is a
university faculty, part of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross,
which promotes the study of theology and scientific research on the
religious phenomenon.
Diocesan Museum of Albenga located since 1982 inside the bishop's
palace, in fifteenth-century rooms partly frescoed and decorated,
presents an exhibition of works of art and materials from the excavation
of the cathedral. Among the paintings stand out a St. John attributed to
Caravaggio and the martyrdom of St. Catherine by Guido Reni.
Ingau
civic museum established in 1933 by Nino Lamboglia in the old town hall,
collects Roman and medieval objects (sculptures, tombstones, sarcophagi
and frescoes of the fifteenth century), archaeological and epigraphic
collections.
Roman naval museum, built in 1950, at the Peloso Cepolla
palace and brings together over a thousand Roman amphorae recovered from
a 1st century BC ship that sank in the waters of Albenga. It was the
first Roman cargo ship discovered and explored on the bottom of the
Ligurian Sea. The first recoveries took place in 1950 by the ship
Artiglio. There is also a prehistoric section with materials from the
Pennavaira valley caves.
Ethnographic museum of the "Civiltà
dell'olio", located in an ancient mill owned by the Sommariva family,
the exhibition is dedicated to the processing of olives, oil and wine.
Exhibition at Palazzo Oddo, with the Magiche Trasparenze exhibition and
other spaces for temporary exhibitions, inside there is the famous
Albenga Blue Plate.
Albenga Modern Art Gallery (G.A.M.A.),
association for social promotion, which organizes international
temporary exhibitions displaying works by major artists on the world
scene such as Picasso, Balthus, Renoir, Gauguin, Pissarro, Mirò,
Kandinsky, Pascin, etc.
Slingshot Museum;
By plane
Albenga airport.
By car
Albenga motorway exit
on the A dei Fiori motorway.
It is crossed by the Aurelia State Road
1.
On the train
Albenga station. It has its own railway
station on the Ventimiglia - Genoa line. The station was opened in 1872,
but the current passenger building, designed by the architect Roberto
Narducci, dates back to the 1930s.
The historic center is perfect for strolling. In fact, it's so small
that most people don't need other means of transportation. The distance
between the historic center and the beach is a bit long for frequent
excursions, but it is a pleasant hike along tree-lined avenues with
modest traffic.
Unlike many other towns in the region, Albenga is
quite flat and cycling is not tiring.
Modest prices
Caffè Roma, Viale Martiri della Libertà, 38, ☎ +39
366 199 3324. Coffee, sandwiches and fruit smoothies.
The weekly market is held on Wednesday in Via Dalmazia.
Territory
Albenga is located in the
western Ligurian Riviera, in the homonymous plain, near the mouth of
the Centa river which over the centuries has acted as the "natural
architect" of the ingauna plain, remodeling the land several times
and forcing the Albenganese to equip themselves with embankments and
bridges since its foundation.
Until the seventeenth century
it based its economy on maritime trade, as the city stood on the
Centa delta and was surrounded by walls and bridges. With the
closure of the other outlets of the delta, which occurred first by
the hands of the Genoese and subsequently by nature, the river now
runs alongside the historic center of ingauno and flows into the
estuary. The memory of the old bridges has also been erased, with
the exception of the ruins of Pontelungo.
It is the main
center of the Albenganese district, which extends from Ceriale to
Andora and its hinterland.
It also includes the regional
nature reserve of Gallinara (or Gallinaria) Island, where Saint
Martin of Tours took refuge towards the end of the 4th century. The
ancient monastery of San Martino on the island, founded by the
Benedictine monks of San Colombano, was dedicated to this saint.
The climate is mild along the coast line, with mild and rarely cold winters and hot summers but mitigated by the sea breeze; in the innermost part of the plain, the continental characteristics are felt more, which create a greater temperature range, more rigid winter minimum temperatures and higher summer maximums.
The current name comes from
the Latin Albíngaunum which is identical to Albium Ingaunum, that
is, the capital city + Ligurian plural genitive in -um. The ethnonym
Ingauni is formed by ing, of Indo-European origin, and auno, common
to the Gallo-Ligurian area. As for Albium, an ancient
pre-Indo-European root (rock, hill) derives from alb / alp, often
mistakenly associated with the Latin albium which means white or
light.
The first name was Albium Ingaunum, but when it was
conquered by the Romans the name became Albingaunum, immediately
after the fall of Rome it became Albingauno and around the year one
thousand the name became Albingano.
First called Albium Ingaunum in Latin and later Albingaunum (crasis
of the original term), translatable into Città degli Ingauni (from the
Ligurian population who originally had it as their main centre), Albenga
was very important for the vicissitudes of conquest and expansion of
Rome in western Liguria and beyond.
It was an ally of the
Carthaginians during the Second Punic War (3rd century BC) and became
the naval base of Hannibal Barca's brother, Magone, who from here, in
205 BC, sailed to Genoa to sack it.
Conquered by the Romans in
181 BC, thanks to the campaign of the proconsul L. Emilio Paolo, it
obtained Latin law in 89 BC. and Roman citizenship in 45 BC, becoming
the heart of the Romanization of the hinterland and the surrounding
area. Having already become a municipium with Julius Caesar, with the
birth of the Roman Empire Albenga acquired more and more importance also
from an economic and, consequently, urban point of view, as a reference
point for the inhabitants of a vast area that went from Sanremo to
Finale Ligure and, inland, to the Tanaro valley in Piedmont.
The
end of the Western Roman Empire, with the consequent multi-level crisis,
did not leave Albenga unscathed: during the 5th century, for example,
the city suffered the attack and invasion of the Goths, with consequent
looting, and destruction of buildings; the same century, however, saw
the birth of the diocese of Albenga, or rather its more defined
territorial and structural organization, with a more widespread
diffusion of Christianity (which certainly arrived in the city during
the second century, perhaps even earlier) and the affirmation of the
bishop also as a civil authority.
Conquered by the Longobards of
Rotari, Albenga then passed under the dominion of the Franks and, in the
10th century, following their defeat by Berengario II, it will enter the
Arduinica brand, maintaining the status of capital for the vast
surrounding area.
Meanwhile the strength, not only spiritual, of
the abbey of Santa Maria and San Martino dell'Isola Gallinara was
emerging in the city, perhaps founded in the fifth century on the site
where San Martino di Tours retired about a century earlier. In 940 the
bishop Ingolfo assigned the monastery of San Martino in Albenga to the
Benedictine abbey, which became the seat of the monks on the mainland,
together with other churches and estates in the surroundings; later, in
1044, the monastery obtained from Pope Benedict IX the exemption from
episcopal jurisdiction and various properties in Italy, which were added
to others in Catalonia (in the surroundings of Barcelona), in Provence
(Fréjus area) and in Corsica. The power of the abbey will undergo a slow
and progressive decline starting from the XIII century.
From a
civil point of view, the committee of Albenga began to form during the
11th century, governed until 1091 by Adelaide di Susa who had her own
royal court in the city; this aspect denotes the importance assumed by
the city, which participated in the first Crusade and in the struggles
for the dominance of maritime traffic in the Tyrrhenian Sea.
Having become a free commune, it didn't take long that it found itself
fighting with the ever more powerful Genoa, under whose dominion Albenga
placed itself with an onerous convention in 1251; despite having lost a
large part of its freedom, the city enjoyed a certain autonomy (in 1288
the inhabitants managed to obtain their own statutes) and there were
periods of prosperity. Involved in the struggles between Guelphs and
Ghibellines, it was ruled by the Del Carrettos of the Marquisate of
Finale, by the Viscontis (1355-1379), by the French (1396-1413) and
again by Genoa.
It was occupied by the Duchy of Savoy in 1625 and
in 1746; later, with the changes due to the Napoleonic conquests, it
became the capital of the jurisdiction of Centa and capital of the
province of the same name under the Kingdom of Sardinia (1815-1859).
With the birth of the Kingdom of Italy, Albenga was chosen as the
capital of the homonymous district in the province of Genoa; since 1927
it has belonged to the province of Savona, established that very year.
The municipality of Albenga underwent the last adjustments to its
administrative borders in 1929, when the territory of the suppressed
municipality of Campochiesa was aggregated to it.
During the
Second World War the city was not spared from Nazi barbarism: the
episode of the so-called "martyrs of the Foce" is sadly famous, which is
one of the reasons that contributed to the awarding of the Gold Medal of
Merit to Albenga in 2019 Civil. From 1973 to 1 January 2009 it was the
administrative headquarters of the Ingauna mountain community.
According to some literary critics, the city of Albenga would be
mentioned (although the description would correspond more to Andora) in
the novel Il fu Mattia Pascal by Luigi Pirandello, with the name of
Alenga (it is the village where the protagonist stops to buy a
newspaper).
In Madame de Genlis' novel Adèle and Theodore with
pedagogical purposes, the French author depicts Albenga - but more
precisely the hamlet of Lusignan - with these words:
«Everything
you see there is pleasant, there you see the real shepherdesses, while
the French peasant women are very sad and really look like they are
wearing nightcaps. All the young Albenganese girls have their hair
decorated with crowns of natural flowers, placed on the head on the left
side; they are very graceful, and above all remarkable for the elegance
of their bearing.”
Press
The main newspapers dealing with Albenga news and politics
are Il Secolo XIX and La Stampa. However, there are smaller print
weeklies and monthlies that deal with it and various online sites that
deal with the city of Albenga and the Ingauno district, such as Il
Vostro Giornale or IVG, Liguria 2000 News, AlbengaCorsara News, Il
carciofino.
Radio
The main local means of communication is the
radio station Radio Onda Ligure 101.
Television
In 1960
Albenga was the protagonist, thanks to the participation of prof.
Tommaso Schivo, of the first collective game broadcast on Raiuno
Campanile evening, conducted by Mike Bongiorno.
Memories, a Dutch
television program broadcast on the first national channel KRO, followed
by over two million viewers, in 2005 chose the historic center of
Albenga as a scenic location for old loves to meet.
In 2006 the
television program Delitti was aired on the History Channel and focused
on the reconstruction of the most important Italian crimes and serial
killers, the eighth episode was dedicated to the "Executioner of
Albenga".
The television network TV2000 in 2011 chose the Pesce
family of Albenga and the city itself as a set for the reality show
Romanzo Familiare.
Cinema
Albenga, in addition to being chosen
for various commercials (it was used as a location for the commercial of
Comix and Agricola Italiana Alimentare S.p.a.), was used as a location
for various films produced by Italian and non-Italian directors such as
Io no spik inglish by 1995 by Carlo Vanzina starring Paolo Villaggio and
Inkheart - The legend of the ink heart of 2008 by Iain Softley and
starring Brendan Fraser, Andy Serkis and Helen Mirren.
Among the best known local gastronomic products there are four
typical products of the Ingauna plain, and they are known as the "4
d'Albenga":
violet asparagus;
Trumpet courgette;
Thorny
artichoke;
Oxheart tomato.
Other products:
Biscuits with
fennel seeds, called in local slang Baxin d'Albenga (trad. "Bacini
d'Albenga");
Taggiasca extra-virgin olive oil;
The pesto;
The
"caviar" of Centa;
Farinata with chickpea flour;
gianchetti
fritters;
Focaccia;
Ciappe with oil;
The taggiasca olive in
brine;
Peaches with pigato.
Among the drinks:
The white
wines Pigato, Vermentino and Lumassina;
Ormeasco and Rossese red
wines;
Grappa with artichoke and chinotto;
Violet asparagus
liqueur.
"Palio Storico di Albenga": the fourth weekend of July, a challenge
between the four historic districts of the historic centre: San
Giovanni, Sant'Eulalia, San Siro and Santa Maria; all the participants
in the districts dress up in medieval costumes.
Sagralea, exhibition
of pigato wine and other quality wines of the Western Ligurian Riviera,
in the last week of August, in the hamlet of Salea; this event is
included in the "Strada del Vino e dell'Olio"
National piano
competition City of Albenga, since 1978
"Su la Testa", music and
theater festival;
"Albingaunum national prize", national literature
prize.
"Terreni Creativi Festival", international multidisciplinary
festival of theatre, dance, cinema and live music. The event, conceived
and organized by Kronoteatro since 2010, was awarded the Garrone Prize
in 2016 and the Rete Critica Prize as "best communication project" in
2017.
The economy is mainly based on agricultural and flower trade, but
with the presence of a strong tertiary sector. There are numerous
service companies and also some industries, and the tourism sector, both
food and wine and cultural, has been developing decisively for a few
years.
The crops are horticultural (the majority until a few
years ago) but, above all, aromatic plants and floriculture. Around this
there is a real economic sector made up of farms (almost all
family-run), the structures and operators of the sector (technical
consultancy, sale of products for cultivation, etc.) and traders, who
often export the products from the plain and the area to the northern
countries (especially Germany). It also activates the cultivation of
vines and olive trees, the production of wine and oil and other
agricultural products. But there are some famous and leading
import-export companies at national and European level in this sector
such as Noberasco for dried fruit, Fruttital for import-export of fresh
fruit, Fitimex for vegetables and exotic fruit , italservice for the
export of vases of herbs and flowers throughout Europe;
Many
products have obtained the Controlled Designation of Origin (DOC),
Protected Designation of Origin (DOP), Typical Geographical Indication
(IGT), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) awards.
The
Albenganese economy has also attracted a large influx of foreign
workers, mostly North Africans.
Streets
The municipal territory of Albenga is mainly crossed by
the state road 1 Via Aurelia, which allows the road connection with
Alassio, to the west, and Ceriale to the east. This road once passed
through the center of the city alongside the historic centre, in the
1960s a variant was designed and opened to vehicular traffic which went
beyond the whole city: this modern layout has made it possible to
quickly connect the two banks of Albenga divided by the Centa river.
The city is also the crossroads of other provincial roads: the
provincial road 3 for Cisano sul Neva; provincial road 6 for Villanova
d'Albenga; provincial road 19 for Arnasco; the Arroscia Valley state
road 453; the state road 582 of Colle San Bernardo, the latter historic
road to Piedmont.
Highway
Albenga can be reached via the A10
motorway via its own motorway exit. Since 1969 the process of a project
for a link road has started that can unite the plain directly and
quickly with its hinterland, with the Bormida valley, then with the A6
motorway and Piedmont, then continue towards Lombardy and connect with
the A26 motorway; this project will form the Predosa-Albenga motorway;
in 2010 the final project was given the green light. This project will
make it possible to lighten the traffic that is always present and
abundant both on the A10 and on the A6 in the summer season and on
holidays.
Railways
Albenga has its own railway station,
located on the Genoa-Ventimiglia line. The station was opened in 1872,
but the current passenger building, designed by the architect Roberto
Narducci, dates back to the 1930s.
The current railway line, for
long stretches with single track, will be replaced by a new double track
line, located further upstream; the new project envisages a large
station in the hamlet of Bastia.
Airport
In the nearby town of
Villanova d'Albenga there is the "C. Panero" International Airport,
inaugurated in 1922. In this space there is also the barracks of the
15th Helicopter Nucleus - Villanova D'Albenga of the Carabinieri.
The most popular sports are water polo, soccer and sailing.
Importance at the regional level is the local water polo team - Ingaunia
- which from 1995 to 1999 played in the top division for the women's
team from Ponente Ligure; among the players, Eleonora Gay from Savona
(gold at the 1998 World Cup in Perth) and Elisa Casanova from Genoa.
Despite the excellent results (it also reached the playoffs) the team
dissolved due to management problems.
The main soccer team is the
A.S.D. Albenga 1928 born in 2010 and militant in the championship of
Excellence Liguria, after the bankruptcy of Albenga Calcio founded in
1928 and which in the past reached what is now the C series. The stadium
is named after the partisan Annibale Riva.
Relevance at the
football level is to be attributed to the A.S.D. San Filippo Neri
(currently in the First Category) with registered office in via Trieste
at the parish of the Sacred Heart; although football developed later,
the sports association was born in 1893 and is one of the oldest in
Italy. There are currently two other football teams in the city:
Pontelungo (First Category) and Vadino.
Important sporting events
are the six-player summer football tournament "Memorial Angelo Malco -
City of Albenga Trophy".
Another relevant sport for the city,
especially in the youth sector, is sailing. The two sailing schools
located here have in fact a very high number of students enrolled in the
summer sailing courses compared to the average of the other schools in
the area. Furthermore, the Albenga Nautical Club can boast of
prestigious competitive teams in the 420, Optimist, 49er and Laser
classes, which often achieve, thanks to their athletes, high results at
national and international level.
As for volleyball, the A.S.D.
Albenga Volley played for one season (2014.2015) in the Italian women's
volleyball B2 series, and now plays in the Italian C series.
Finally Albenga or more precisely its Val Pennavaire represents with its
over thirty sport climbing sites an excellent alternative to the
renowned Finale Ligure.
Albenga hosted the start of the second
stage of the 2015 Giro d'Italia, which ended in Genoa and was then won
by Elia Viviani of Team Sky.