Situated on a wooded plateau in the upper valley of the Bormida di Millesimo, Bardineto is a quiet Ligurian hill town with more history than its size suggests. It became a fief of the Del Carretto of Balestrino in the thirteenth century, and in 1795 was the site of a battle between the Austrians and the French under General Masséna.
Little remains of the polygonal feudal castle — it had sixteen sides — or the medieval fortifications. The Cappella di San Nicolò, on the hill of the same name, dates from the eleventh century and houses fifteenth-century frescoes. The parish church was built in 1720. The surrounding chestnut and beech forests make for good walking.