Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena ( lij, Castrevëgio) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

region

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about southwest of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and about southwest of Savona.

Geography

Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena borders the following municipalities: Balestrino,

Bardineto Bardineto ( lij, Berdënei) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Bardineto borders the following municipalities: Boissano, Cali ...

, Erli,

Garessio Garessio is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southeast of Cuneo. The former Savoy family palace, the Reggia di Val Casotto is located within the town li ...

, Toirano, and

Zuccarello Zuccarello (; lij, Sucarê ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria an ...

. The village gets its name from a nearby mountain called Rocca Barbena.

History

In the 12th and 13th centuries, Castelvecchio was part of the

fiefdom A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of f ...

of the Marquis of Clavesana. Gradually it lost importance as the centre of local feudal power shifted to the nearby fief of

. In 1623 Castelvecchio was acquired by the

Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

under the House of Savoy. After the castle was besieged in 1672, the Castelvecchio was ceded to the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. In 1746 , following the

Spanish War of Succession Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

a failed attempt was made by the Piedmontese army to take the village and the castle. In 1815 Castelvecchio once more became part of the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia and following Italian unification in 1861 it became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

Architecture

The village is characterised by old stone houses clustered around an ancient castle. The Castello dei Clavesana, which dates from around the 9th-10th centuries, towers over the village on a large rocky promontory. From the 11th century onwards, the castle was developed and village was constructed outside the castle walls. Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena has been named as one of the most beautiful villages of Italy by the association "I Borghi più belli d’Italia".

Sports

The area around Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena is perfect for hiking and mountain biking with many access roads and dedicated mountain biking trails. There is a sports association called the A.S.D Castelvecchio Rockriders who maintain and build new mountain bike paths. Working under the bran
Wild Rock MTB
together wit
Bardineto Outdoor
they are bringing more mountain bikers to the area and in turn increasing the economy within the towns.

References

External links