The Ortovero clays are a kind of soil, sandy and clayey, dating from the Pliocene and named after the village: good ground for farming and for vines. The name of the municipality also speaks of cultivation, since it is said to come from the Latin hortus vetus, old garden.
In 1242 the inhabitants tried to break free of the marquises of Clavesana by organising themselves as Universitas and Comunitas: it did not work, and their feudal obligations grew heavier. Meanwhile Albenga, to contain the marquises, in 1288 planted a new fortified town a little further upstream, Polium, today the hamlet of Pogli; the castle and the fief passed to Albenga in 1341. The population is 1,583.
Pesto alla Genovese
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Next up: Saint Sylvester, patron of a town contested between the marquises of Clavesana and Albenga, Thursday 31 December
Nearest airport: Genova, 72 km away
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📅 Every year, on 31 December
Ortovero celebrates Saint Sylvester on 31 December, in the parish church dedicated to him, of medieval origin; in the Middle Ages the town's castle was a stronghold of the marquises of Clavesana against the growing power of the town of Albenga, to which it passed in 1341.
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 Ortovero, but an easy day trip away.
