Albera Ligure: sights, history and trails

Located on the right bank of the Borbera stream which gives its name to the valley, on the north-west slopes of Monte Ebro (1701 m) which is the highest peak of Province of Alessandria. The main nucleus of the municipality is divided from the Borgo di San Martino by the Albirola stream, a tributary of the Borbera, which probably takes its name from the municipality. The hamlets: San Nazzaro, Astrata and Spinola are part of the locality, and are located along the provincial road that from Arquata Scrivia reaches Cabella Ligure. The hamlets Santa Maria, Vendèrsi, Vigo, Figino and Volpara are located to the east, scattered on the municipal territory that reaches the 1 559 Meters of Mount Pana.

The history of the country, as well as its gastronomy alternates between Piemonte and Liguria. The first news of the village, although probably from origins Dectunine Ligurians, they date back to the Middle Ages. About a thousand years ago, around the 9th century, a Benedictine abbey was founded in the hamlet of Vendèrsi on the remains of a Roman settlement, where farmers fleeing from the barbarian invasions found refuge. With the assets of the Abbey, which decayed in the 13th century, a noble papal fief was created and an ecclesiastical immunity due to the diocese of Tortona headed by a provost under direct papal protection. At the time of the foundation of Alessandria in 1168, the municipality of Albera was mentioned among those who joined the fight against Frederick Barbarossa. Towards the middle of the 15th century, it came under the domination of the Imperial fiefdoms Ligurian and administered by various noble families from Genoa and Tortona, including the Fieschi, Sauli and Gambara, until the abolition of the imperial fiefdoms in July 1797.

In the second half of the 17th century, following the mandate of Bishop Carlo Settala, then bishop of Tortona, some coins were minted in the name of Albera. On the obverse was depicted the coat of arms of the Settala family and on the reverse a standing bishop figure, with miter and crosier.^[5].

Only in 1861 did it come to be included in the province of Alessandria.

In 1863 the municipality of Albera took on the new name of "Albera Ligure".^[6]

In 1929 the town was aggregated to the municipality of Rocchetta Ligure but it regained administrative independence after the Second World War, in 1947.

In the hamlet of Vendèrsi there is the church of Saints Matteo and Fortunato dating back to the 9th century. The previous abbey was instead located upstream from the town, in a locality called "Pian dei Preti", still today visibly affected by landslides which destroyed the abbey at the time. Of the important Vendèrsi abbey only the lid of a granite sarcophagus remains, in section, with angular projections, 2 meters long and wide 80 cm, leaning against the external wall of the church and perhaps used in the Middle Ages as a cover for the tomb of a high prelate or a benefactor. A two-storey portico with ribbed vaults is preserved from the ancient parish church of the capital, leaning against the south side of the parish church of San Giovanni Battista. In the sacristy, the oldest part of the complex, there are frescoed vaults with pontifical coats of arms and floral motifs. In the hamlet of Figino you can observe the remains of an ancient tower, perhaps an observatory to signal the inhabitants of the time of the approach of the Saracens coming from Liguria and the sea.

This country is part of the culturally homogeneous territory of Four provinces (Alessandria, Genoa, Pavia, Piacenza), characterized by common habits and customs and by an important repertoire of music and dance very ancient. The main instrument of this area is the Apennine fife which, accompanied by the accordion, and once by the müsa (Apennine bagpipe), leads the dances and animates the parties. The dialect spoken in the town is a type of Ligurian transition between Genoese and the dialect of the lower valley, also of Ligurian origin.

In recent years, silent and discreet tourism has been emerging in Albera Ligure for families and lovers of nature and peace, but the main activity remains agriculture. Even today, cereals, legumes, potatoes and fodder are grown. Breeding is important, especially sheep farming. Migration towards the Genoese area and the plain has always been intense in past years, and in the last fifty years it has literally depopulated several municipalities and hamlets in the valley.

Below is a table relating to the administrations that have succeeded one another in this municipality.

• Domenico Promis, Tree, in Coins Piemonte unpublished or rare - supplement, Turin, Royal Printing House, 1861.