The name is the rock. On the spur that dominates the bay stood the Castrum et Oppidum Petrae, the stone castle, put up between the seventh and eighth centuries; from 1100 the bishops of Albenga made it their summer residence.
Before them the Ligurian Ingauni were here, and in the second Punic war they allied with the Carthaginians: submission to Rome became final only after the defeat of 181 BC, in a battle fought at Capo Caprazoppa. In the caves of Monte Trabocchetto Neolithic hunting tools and traces of a hearth have been found. There are 8,880 residents.
basilica di San Nicolò · castello della Pietra · santuario di Nostra Signora del Soccorso
Pesto alla Genovese
24 places to stay · top rated: A'mare Boutique Hotel & Spa 9.3 · Albergo Ristorante Bergallo 9.0
Next up: The miracle of Saint Nicholas, Thursday 8 July
Nearest airport: Genova, 53 km away
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📅 Every year, on 8 July the feast of the miracle; Saint Nicholas on 6 December
On 8 July Pietra Ligure holds its greatest feast: since 1525 it recalls the morning when the bells rang by themselves in a town emptied by the plague.
basilica di San Nicolò A handprint on a bell, a vow made in 1525 and one of the widest vaults in Europe. 
castello della Pietra The dungeons are called the Grimaldina, after two Grimaldi brothers of Monaco jailed here 
santuario di Nostra Signora del Soccorso A frescoed medieval wall, cut out and set above the altar: the sailors' sanctuary of Pietra Ligure. 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 Pietra Ligure, but an easy day trip away.
