Vallebona

Orange Flag of the Italian Touring Club

Just a few kilometres separate Vallebona from the coast, and its streets are filled with the scent of sea air mixed with flowers. Picturesque and compact, the old town with its squares and narrow streets offers many sightseeing opportunities, like the baroque church of St Laurence, the old tower, the 12th-century taxman's measures known as ouge, Piazza XX Settembre with its oratory and bell tower and a curious little square decorated with symbols of the four elements.

If you like hiking or cycling, the Montenero Park offers plenty of panoramic views and scenic trails suitable for novices and experts alike. The typical local speciality is the bitter orange flower water (accredited by Slow Food), a product rediscovered thanks to a young local producer, Pietro Guglielmi, who has revived this tradition by opening a distillery, the Vecchia Distilleria. Orange flower water is also the secret ingredient in the sweet pastries known as bugie, which you can enjoy all year round, not just at Carnival time. Other local specialities worth a mention are the handmade ravioli, and the sospiri, little biscuits often flavoured with oranges or citrus marmalade.

The local community organise a variety of events, including the summertime "Ape in fiore", when the town's streets are filled with colourful floats and three-wheeled "Apetti", the "Festa del fior d 'arancio" (Orange Flower Festival) held at the beginning of June, and "Vallebon 'art", a biennial art festival.