The town carries a refugee's name. Olcese was a bishop in Gaul and in the fifth century, with the barbarian invasions, he fled to these parts; the valley, which was called Valle Ombrosa, took his name. His relics were found in 1155 and are kept in the parish church.
The first notices of the town are from 1146 and concern that very church, which in January 1367 was burned by the men of the Fieschi during the faction fights of Genoa; they rebuilt it in 1387. The castle the Adorno raised at Vicomorasso was destroyed in 1395, in another instalment of the same feud. There are 5,911 residents.
Chiesa di San Martino
Pesto alla Genovese
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Next up: Saint John the Baptist, patron in the town named after a bishop who fled Gaul, Thursday 24 June
Nearest airport: Genova, 11 km away
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📅 Every year, on 24 June
Sant'Olcese celebrates Saint John the Baptist on 24 June, with a 17th-century oratory dedicated to him in the hamlet of the same name; the town itself, however, takes its name from bishop Olcese, who in the 5th century fled here from the barbarian invasions of Gaul.
Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Sant'Olcese, but an easy day trip away.
