Diano Castello

Diano Castello is a village surrounded by greenery not far from the sea, in the Golfo Dianese behind Diano Marina. The village, built to escape the Saracens on safer hills, is already mentioned in a document of 1033. Subject to the Bishopric of Albenga and then to the Marquises of Clavesana, it became a free municipality in 1172. With the cessation of pirate raids, the inhabitants began to leave the heights to return to the coast, which was more favourable to trade. The centre retains the atmosphere of the ancient village, with narrow streets between the houses. The municipal loggia welcomes you at the entrance to the village, with the coats of arms of the municipalities that were part of the Communitas Diani. The church dedicated to the patron saint, St Nicholas of Bari, is a structure remodelled in the 18th century, with marble altars bearing witness to Genoese/Lombard artistic links, a Crucifix by Maragliano and an 18th-century wooden choir. The Town Hall is located in Palazzo Quaglia, a 15th-century building with a façade decorated by a 17th-century fresco on the Battle of Meloria in 1284, the clash between Genoa and the Pisan fleet in which people from the town participated. Very interesting are the Romanesque church of Santa Maria Assunta, the church of San Giovanni Battista with a 15th-century wooden truss roof restored in the 19th century and the ancient oratory of San Bernardino and Santa Croce rebuilt in the 17th century.