Del Carretto Castle Ruins

The ruins of the Del Carretto castle occupy the highest point of the old town, giving a clear view across the Bormida valley toward the Ligurian Apennines. What remains are sections of wall, a crumbling tower, and the outline of the original keep, all overgrown with Mediterranean scrub.

The climb from the Porta Soprana takes about ten minutes on a steep cobbled path. It is worth it for the view alone. On a clear day you can see the hills of Monferrato to the north and, on exceptionally clear winter days, the faint glint of the Ligurian Sea to the south.

things to do sight
A story
The Del Carretto family built their castle on the hill above Cairo Montenotte in the fourteenth century and held the marquisate for generations, straddling the boundary between Genoa and the inland territories. Their power eventually waned as the House of Savoy expanded southward, and the castle fell into ruin — but the family name survives in the ceramics tradition of Albissola Marina on the Ligurian coast.