Santo Stefano d'Aveto () is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Metropolitan City of Genoa The Metropolitan City of Genoa () is a metropolitan city in the region of Liguria in northern Italy. Its capital is the city of Genoa. It replaced the province of Genoa in 2015. It has 67 municipalities (''comuni) in'' an area of and a total p ...

in the

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

region

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

Santo Stefano d'Aveto borders the comuni of Bedonia,

Borzonasca Borzonasca is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about east of Genoa. Borzonasca borders the following municipalities: Mezzanego, Ne, Rezzoaglio, San Colombano Certénoli, Santo ...

Ferriere Ferriere (; Piacentino: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Piacenza in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about west of Bologna and about southwest of Piacenza, in the Val Nure of the Ligurian Apennines. Ferriere bor ...

Rezzoaglio Rezzoaglio (, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria. Rezzoaglio borders the following municipalities: Borzonasca, Favale di Malvaro, Ferriere, Fontanigorda, Lorsica, Mon ...

and Tornolo.

Geography

Santo Stefano d'Aveto is about northeast of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

, in the

Val d'Aveto The Val d'Aveto, or Aveto valley, straddles the Province of Genoa and the Province of Piacenza, between the Italian regions of Liguria and Emilia-Romagna. The river Aveto runs through the valley, to later join its waters with those of the Trebbia ne ...

, near the Aveto river. The town is part of the Comunità montana Valli Aveto, Graveglia e Sturla, and is one of five

n towns in the

Aveto Natural Regional Park The Aveto Natural Regional Park is a natural park in Metropolitan City of Genoa, in the Liguria region of northern Italy). It was established in 1995. Geography Situated in the inland of the Tigullio area, Aveto Natural Regional Park protects o ...

History

The town was likely founded during

prehistoric Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use o ...

times, and the first mention of this town was during the 2nd century BC, where at the foot of Monte Penna a battle between the Romans and Ligurians took place. In the 12th century AD,

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

conferred the fief of Santo Stefano d'Aveto upon the

Malaspina family The House of Malaspina was a noble Italian family of Longobard origin that descended from Boniface I, Margrave of Tuscany, Boniface I, through the Obertenghi line, that ruled Lunigiana from the 13th to the 14th centuries, and the Province of Mas ...

, who then constructed the ponderous castle. The fief were then passed on to the

Fieschi The House of Fieschi were an old Italian noble family from Genoa, Italy, from whom descend the Fieschi Ravaschieri Princes of Belmonte. Of ancient origin, they took their name from the progenitor ''Ugo Fliscus'', descendants of the counts of Lav ...

family and later to the Doria family, all related by an elaborate intermarriage network of noble families.

Main sights

*Malaspina Castle (13th century), currently in ruin, but undergoing limited restoration. The castle is located off the central

piazza A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rela ...

of the town, and features a highly irregular

polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane (mathematics), plane Shape, figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its ''edge (geometry), edges'' or ''sides''. The p ...

base. *The sanctuary of the

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, Juan Bernardino reported in December 1531, when t ...

is the town church, on the grounds of which is found the town cemetery. Among the relics it holds is a

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

medallion of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

mounted on the main door. The present church was founded in 1929.

Mountains

Monte Maggiorasca Monte Maggiorasca is a mountain on the border between Liguria and Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Geography The mountain is the highest peak (1,799 m) of the Ligurian Apennines. It overlookVal d'Aveto and Val Nure, and the ''comuni ...

(1,799 m) *

Monte Bue Mount Bue is a mountain in the Ligurian Apennines that is part of the Maggiorasca mountain group, located on the watershed between the Aveto, Ceno and Nure valleys, on the border between the metropolitan city of Genoa and the provinces of Parm ...

(1,777 m) * Monte Penna (1,735) *Monte Tomarlo (1,602 m) *Groppo Rosso (1,594 m)

Cultural events

*First Sunday after

Ferragosto ''Ferragosto'' is a public holiday celebrated on 15 August in all of Italy. It originates from ''Feriae Augusti'', the festival of Augustus, Emperor Augustus, who made 1 August a day of rest after weeks of hard work on the agricultural sector. ...

(15 August): Patron Saint feast "Madonna di Guadalupe" *2 September: Fair of St. Mary Magdalene *5 October: Fair of St. Francis

Economy

Tourism

The town was given the honor of "Orange Flag" in 2006 by the Italian Touring Club, a symbol of superior quality for tourism, and awarded only to smaller inland communities to distinguish these towns for excellence and hospitality. The town is best known as a launch site for

trekking Backpacking is the outdoor recreation of carrying gear on one's back while hiking for more than a day. It is often an extended journey and may involve camping outdoors. In North America, tenting is common, where simple shelters and mountain hu ...

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

horse riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding ( Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

, and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

. The local mountains are a favorite destination for recreational skiing.

Food

San Stè cheese

"San Stè" is a traditional

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk (usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats or sheep). During prod ...

made in this town. This cheese is a far cry from the mass-produced confections found in the grocery store. It is produced by a small collection of families, and made in the identical fashion for centuries. The cheese itself is produced from unpasteurized

bovine Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including Bos, cattle, bison, African buffalo, Bubalus, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this gro ...

whole milk principally from the Bruno-alpina or Cabannina cattle races, coagulated with

veal Veal is the meat of Calf (animal), calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any List of cattle breeds, breed; however, most veal comes from young male calves of Dairy cattle, dairy b ...

rennet Rennet () is a complex set of enzymes produced in the stomachs of ruminant mammals. Chymosin, its key component, is a protease, protease enzyme that curdling, curdles the casein in milk. In addition to chymosin, rennet contains other enzymes, su ...

, either in paste or powder form, at about , mixing for 35 minutes, breaking apart large curds until the mixture is curdled to the size of rice. Salt is also added to the curd. The mixture is then placed in a round form measuring high and in diameter. The cheese in this form weighs about . The crust is thin, elastic, compact, and edible. Inside, the cheese has a yellowish color like

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

. After aging for about two months, the cheese is ready for the table, and provides a delicate flavor, slightly bitter, becoming more intense with greater aging.

Mushrooms

Mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or another food source. ''Toadstool'' generally refers to a poisonous mushroom. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, gathered in the wild, are a very popular delicacy of the town. There exists a long-standing tradition among the men in the town to hunt and gather mushrooms, but to never reveal the source. This tradition, however, has received the attention of the government, and the gathering of mushrooms is now strictly regulated.

Transport

Santo Stefano d'Aveto is served by Strada Provinciale 654 della Val di Nure (SP-654), which connects it to

. The town is not directly reachable by

autostrada The ''autostrade'' (; : ''autostrada'', ) are roads forming the Italian national system of motorways. The total length of the system is about , as of 30 July 2022. There are also 13 motorway spur routes, which extend for . Most of the Itali ...

, or major highway. Another prominent use of the local, winding roads is the Val d'Aveto Rally, featuring automobile races annually since 1975. The nearest train station to the North is located in

Piacenza Piacenza (; ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Piacenza, eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with more ...

; the nearest train station to the south is located in

Chiavari Chiavari (; ) is a seaside comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, in Italy. It has about 28,000 inhabitants. It has a beachside promenade and a marina and is situated near the river Entella (river), Entella. History Pre-Rom ...

. Public buses provide transport from the latter to Santo Stefano d'Aveto.

Notable people

* Luigi Fugazy (1839–1930), banker and philanthropist