The patron saint of Boves is Saint Bartholomew the Apostle, celebrated on 24 August.
Emerging into Christian-era history as a «castrum» and «locus», the town is first recorded in a document from 815 under the name Bovixium: a charter of Louis the Pious, son of Charlemagne, confirms the rights of the abbey of San Dalmazzo di Pedona over churches and localities of the County of Bredolo, and is the oldest document so far found in which the town's name appears. Its history resembled that of every other town in the province, marked by Saracen raids and struggles among feudal lords: held by the marquises del Vasto, it passed to the marquises of Busca in 1144, to those of Ceva in 1214, belonged to the marquisate of Saluzzo, to the Visconti, and from 1396 to the Acaja.
The community reacted stubbornly to the hardships of the time, entrusting itself to divine protection with «civic vows» to the Madonna dei Boschi in 1630 and by building a sanctuary to Saint Anthony in 1647: the sanctuary of the Madonna dei Boschi still holds today frescoes by Giacomo Rossignolo (1524-1604), including a celebrated Last Judgement depicting a leviathan. In the 20th century Boves paid a heavy price in blood to the Resistance against the German occupation, with numerous unarmed citizens shot during the long months of struggle.
