Novi is in Piedmont but calls itself Ligure, and the reason looks like a protest: when the administrative reform took away its province and folded it into that of Alessandria, the town kept in its name the memory of what it had been for centuries, that is the commercial crossroads of the Republic of Genoa beyond the mountain passes, the hinge between the coast and the plain. Earlier still, in 1799, between the Lemme and the Scrivia, a real battle was fought here: the Austro-Russians of Melas and Suvorov against the French, whose commander Joubert fell in the very first phase of the fighting, leaving the command to Moreau. The French lost it and fell back on Genoa.
Throughout Italy, though, the town's name means two things: chocolate and bicycles. The confectionery cluster brings together historic brands, and at the feast of Saint Catherine, held since the seventeenth century at the end of November, people buy nougat. The bicycles are a family matter: Costante Girardengo was at home here, and not far off, at Castellania, Fausto Coppi was born. To the two champions the town has devoted, since 2003, a museum of three thousand square metres, carved out of the area where the steelworks used to stand, and to Girardengo also the stadium and a street in the centre. All around lie the hills of Gavi: a glass of Cortese is the right way to end the visit.
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📅 Every year, on 5 August; the Feast of Saint Catherine is held on 25 November since 1607
Novi Ligure celebrates Our Lady of the Snow on 5 August; since 1607 the town has also held the Feast of Saint Catherine, on 25 November, with a three-day fair through the town's central streets.
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.
