The 1947 Treaty of Paris moved the border and took two hamlets away from Olivetta San Michele: Piena and Libri ended up in France, in the commune of Breil-sur-Roya, and since then this has been the westernmost comune in Liguria.
What is left is 225 residents, scattered between Olivetta, Fanghetto and the other hamlets of the Bevera valley, at around 292 metres. The parish church of Sant'Antonio di Padova, bombed in 1944, was frescoed again after the war by Mario Raimondo, known in Dolceacqua as Barbadirame.
The patron saint is Saint Anthony of Padua and the feast falls on 13 June; the parish church of the main village carries his name. The «San Michele» in the municipality's name is traced instead to the archangel venerated at Sospel, which since 1860 has been in French territory, a few kilometres from here.
«Olivetta» is said to have an odd origin too: from the collective form oliveta, the olive groves, the word is thought to have slipped by misreading into a feminine diminutive. These are handed-down explanations, not documented from archive sources. What is certain is that the municipality took its present name in 1890, when the seat was moved here from Piena.
chiesa di Sant'Antonio di Padova
Pesto alla Genovese
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Next up: Saint Anthony of Padua, patron in a territory split by the French border in 1947, Sunday 13 June
Nearest airport: Genova, 121 km away
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📅 Every year, on 13 June
Olivetta San Michele celebrates Saint Anthony of Padua on 13 June; the nearby medieval village of Penna, once linked to Olivetta's territory, passed to France after the 1947 Paris peace treaty.
📅 Every year, in July
An evening of music, balfolk dancing and Occitan cooking in Liguria's westernmost municipality, in July.
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 Olivetta San Michele, but an easy day trip away.
