Borgio Verezzi is actually not only a borgo, a medieval village, but it is actually a town split into parts: a village up on the hills, overlooking the scenic coast and hard to get to and a town on the sea with a very long beach and seaside resorts.
Verezzi is the village up on the hills, whose colorful alleys and postcard views of Borgio down below have made it become a wonderful panoramic viewpoint with gorgeous terraced houses and restaurants.
Borgio down below is a cute seaside village where to swim and have a drink by the sea enjoying the breeze during hot summer nights.
Together they make up the municipality of Borgio Verezzi, a stone's throw away from Genoa and other splendid beaches on the Ligurian Sea.
The first news of settlements in the territory of Borgio Verezzi date back to the Paleolithic while we must move to the time of the conquest of Liguria by the Romans to find the first real historical notes about this area.
In the Middle Ages the territories of Borgio and Verezzi experienced a period of crisis that was interrupted only when these two inhabited centers passed under the dominion of the Republic of Genoa. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the isolation of Verezzi ended thanks to the construction of a new carriage road that was the antechamber of the administrative unification that, in the 30s, gave birth to the small municipality of Borgio Verezzi in the province of Savona as we know it today.
Despite this territorial union, the two centers appear to be quite different from each other and this will strike your eyes from the very first moment. The municipality of Borgio, located in a flat area a few meters from the coast, represents the most recently built area as can be seen from the architectural style that distinguishes its inhabited center: new buildings, fancy restaurants and trendy cafes.
The historical center of the wonderful village of Verezzi, on the other hand, appears totally different: an open-air museum characterized by stone houses where tranquility and silence will brighten your day.
It is no coincidence that this marvel has been included in the list of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy and has been chosen to host, since the 60s, the very famous Theater Festival of Borgio Verezzi that every year sees artists alternate on this natural stage during the summer months.
In Borgio, walking through the narrow streets of the town center you will be amazed by the apparently modern appearance of this defensive building since the facades and the entire structure are evidently renovated. The Torrione remains a historical symbol made available to the local community for exhibitions and cultural events.
Furthermore, some alleys guard several murals painted by a local artist also known as ‘the walls that tell a story’.
In the upper part of the municipality, Verezzi has the charm of a “Saracen village”and it is best understood by walking along the ancient stone mule tracks that connect the various hamlets and that lead you to the terraces, built on the bare rock and delimited by the famous dry stone walls, or to the entrance doors of the splendid and characteristic homes that can be admired here.
In this corner of Verezzi you will find yourself walking aimlessly, attracted by the beauty of the most picturesque and colorful corners of this extraordinary Ligurian village.
A mural in Borgio
