Villanova did not grow: it was decided. On 7 December 1250 the Comune of Albenga resolved to found a new town, with walls and towers, and offered tax relief to anyone who came to live there: the point was to take people away from the marquises of Clavesana and the other lords of the plain. The statutes of 1288 set down the obligation to reside inside the walls.
The design is still visible: a polygonal plan, ten towers, two gates. At the centre stands the medieval well, which has become the symbol of the village, the only drinking water for everyone until the nineteen-thirties, and it still keeps its old chains and buckets. The population is 2,522.
chiesa di Santo Stefano di Cavatorio · chiesa di Santa Maria del Soccorso
Pesto alla Genovese
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Next up: Saint Stephen, patron of a town founded in 1250, Saturday 26 December
Nearest airport: Genova, 69 km away
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📅 Every year, on 26 December
Villanova d'Albenga celebrates Saint Stephen on 26 December; the church dedicated to him, at Pian Cavatorio, was built in Romanesque style in the 12th century, even before the town itself was founded.
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 Villanova d'Albenga, but an easy day trip away.
