Ceriale is a small seaside town on the Riviera delle Palme, the western Ligurian coast between Albenga and Savona, with a permanent population of about 5,500 that swells several times over in high summer. The town itself is an unremarkable modern Italian beach resort — wide sandy beach, long promenade, parasols in neat rows from June to September — but its setting is pretty: behind the beach, the steep green hills of the Arroscia and Pennavaire valleys rise towards Monte Croce, and in front lies the characteristic curving Ligurian coast with Gallinara — the small uninhabited island known in ancient times as an exile destination for early Christians — visible offshore.
The central monument is the Bastione, a circular stone tower built in 1563 as part of a chain of coastal watchtowers designed to warn the Ligurian towns of Saracen raids; it still dominates the seafront. The baroque Parish Church of Santi Giovanni ed Eugenio holds some good 18th-century altarpieces. More interesting is the small hilltop hamlet of Peagna just above the town, reached by a narrow lane lined with geraniums and basil, where the cemetery church has traces of 15th–16th-century frescoes; the village hosts an annual summer cultural festival and book fair. Behind Ceriale, the Iba Valley and the Fountains path are good short walks into the hinterland. The Ceriale coast is part of the fertile Piana di Albenga, Liguria's main market-garden district, so the local produce — especially the Albenga violet asparagus, tomatoes, and basil for pesto — is excellent.