On the hill of San Giuseppe above the village stand the ruins of a fifteenth-century castle and the chapel that once stood beside it — together the most tangible reminder that Massimino was once worth fortifying and fought over. The castle was built to defend the approach to the Via dei Giovetti pass, which runs through the ridge above, and passed through the hands of several regional powers before losing its strategic significance in the eighteenth century. What remains now are substantial stone walls on a rocky promontory, open to the sky, with views over the Tanaro valley that explain immediately why someone chose to build here.
The chapel alongside the castle ruins was converted at some point into a small open-air theatre — one of those quietly inventive repurposings that rural Italian communities are good at. Performances here, when they happen at all, are seasonal and informal; the real draw is the setting rather than any fixed programme. The path up from the village is short and steep, through terraced ground that once held gardens and orchards. Allow twenty minutes from the village centre.