The walled village and the climbing paradise
A couple of kilometres inland from the sea of Finale Ligure, at the confluence of two streams, Finalborgo is one of the best preserved medieval villages of Liguria, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", still entirely enclosed by its fifteenth century walls, with round towers and gates. It was the capital of the Marquisate of Finale, a small independent state ruled by the Del Carretto family from the twelfth century, which resisted Genoa for centuries before passing to Spain in the seventeenth century. The village has a charming atmosphere of narrow streets, small squares, noble palaces with slate portals, churches and cafés.
The heart of the village is the Piazza del Tribunale, and among its monuments are the basilica of San Biagio, with an elegant octagonal bell tower built on one of the towers of the walls, and the former convent of Santa Caterina, with two beautiful Renaissance cloisters, which houses the Archaeological Museum of Finale, with prehistoric finds from the many caves of the area, including the famous burial of a young hunter of the Upper Paleolithic, the "Giovane Principe" of the Arene Candide cave. Above the village rise the ruins of Castel Gavone, the castle of the Del Carretto, with its "diamond tower", and the Spanish fort of San Giovanni. The limestone plateaus and cliffs around Finale, crossed by paths and dotted with caves, are an international paradise for rock climbing, with thousands of routes, and for mountain biking, with hundreds of kilometres of trails, which have made the "Finale Outdoor Region" famous throughout Europe.
Tip: walk up to Castel Gavone along the old Spanish road; the area is perfect for a climbing or mountain bike holiday.
Where it is
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Where to stay near Finale Ligure
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