The parish church of San Matteo is the spiritual centre of Giusvalla, a modest but well-preserved Ligurian village church whose origins reach back to the medieval period. Its most notable surviving feature is a holy-water stoup carved in the thirteenth century — a simple stone font, plain by the standards of larger churches but remarkable for having survived intact in a village of this size. It is one of the oldest dateable objects in the comune.
The church itself is built in the restrained style typical of inland Ligurian religious architecture: thick stone walls, a single nave, and a campanile that rises just above the surrounding rooftops. The interior is cool and quiet, making it a welcome stop on a warm afternoon walk through the village.