This time I visited the town of Ceriale on the Western Coast.
The village is in the province of Savona, precisely located about halfway between Loano and Albenga.
Ceriale is also known for its beautiful beaches and clean sea, so much so that the Blue Flag (Italy’s most important recognition for clean waters) flies on its coast.
The Blue Flag is the official recognition for clear and clean waters
Ceriale is a quiet seaside village, with its typical caruggi (narrow alleyways) characterizing its center and a promenade that ends to the west in a beautiful pine forest, a real green lung, enhanced by the new restyling with a system of wooden walkways, to give a stop shaded even on the hottest days.
A walk on its panoramic pier, on the other hand, allows us to admire the town and the entire coast from another point of view, listening to the sound of the sea.
But Ceriale is not just blue water and sand.
The town retains traces of its medieval past and there is still the medieval tower, built in the 16th century to defend the village from pirate invasions. The main church is also very old, with three naves and characterized by a large dome.
It was rebuilt during the 17th century after being destroyed by pirates.
There you will find important Baroque works typical of the time it was rebuilt.
With a panoramic loop route that surrounds the village upstream, if you hike, you can admire the whole coast from above, and on the way back you can also visit a medieval village and the fourteenth-century church of San Giovanni Battista above the town.
Here you can also find the Paleontological Museum, which houses numerous ancient artifacts found in the municipality of Ceriale, many in the Rio Torsero, along with contemporary corals and shells, partly from abroad and partly from our seas. Outside the museum, there is a small botanical garden, which describes the evolution of terrestrial flora from the Paleozoic to the Cenozoic, including our era.
The Rio Torsero Nature Reserve has been established in the vicinity, precisely one kilometer from Ceriale, at seventy meters above sea level. Here there are very ancient and perfectly preserved fossil deposits.
Since this Summer has been one of the hottest in the last decades, I took a trip to Le Caravelle, the largest water park in Liguria. There are attractions for both adults and children, sun loungers for sunbathing and the pool for swimming, or the whirlpool tub and the wellness area.
There are many slides, a wave pool and there was even Aquadance, a space for dancing while being sprayed with fresh water - Unfortunately this attraction was closed due to Coronavirus.
There is also a beach volleyball court, inflatables for kids and a little train which goes around the Park.
Like all water parks, a lot of space is dedicated to swimming pools and slides for the fun of the whole family, but here you will also find something more: the theme is in fact that of Le Caravelle, Christopher Columbus’s vessels which, in 1942, sailed to discover the American continent.
The three vessels, called Caravelle in Italian, La Niña, La Pinta and Santa María are reproduced in this park and anyone can board them and pretend to be Christopher Columbus.
They are not real life size but in the Park you can find everywhere references to Christopher Columbus’s story and there are some interesting facts about the controversial Genoese explorer.
The Park has been around for many decades, way before the controversy about Christopher Columbus came up with Black Lives Matter so, don’t judge please! It’s only a water park after all.
Caravelle Park, named after Christopher Columbus’s vessels
