The colourful village on the sea
Just south of Alassio, at the foot of Capo Mele, Laigueglia is a small seaside village of fishermen and sailors, one of the "Borghi più belli d'Italia", which has preserved its authentic character. Its colourful houses, ochre, pink, yellow and red, face directly onto a long sandy beach, with fishing boats pulled up on the shore, and inside the village, the caruggi, narrow lanes parallel to the sea, connected by small covered alleys, the "chibi", lead between old houses, small squares and shops. In the past, Laigueglia was a village of skilled sailors and coral fishermen, who went as far as Sardinia, Corsica and North Africa.
The skyline of the village is dominated by the large baroque Basilica of San Matteo, built in the eighteenth century with the money of the coral fishermen, with an imposing façade and two bell towers topped by domes covered with colourful majolica, which shine in the sun. On the beach stands the Torrione, a round tower built in 1564 as a defence against the Saracen pirates, one of the few remains of the old walls. Every summer, the village relives its past with the "Sbarco dei Saraceni", a historical re-enactment of a pirate raid, with costumes, boats, fireworks and battles on the beach. From Laigueglia, a panoramic path climbs to the medieval village of Colla Micheri, where the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl, of the Kon-Tiki expedition, lived for many years, and to the lighthouse of Capo Mele, with views of the coast.
Tip: walk up to Colla Micheri among the olive groves; in summer, check the date of the Sbarco dei Saraceni.
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