Dolceacqua – Sweet water in Liguria, Italy

When one thinks of Italy, one has stereotypical images of beautiful old medieval buildings and stunning views as well as delicious food. Dolceacqua is no exception and one look at the uniquely shaped bridge and the castle sitting on the steep hill takes you back to life in the real Italy.

Dolceacqua / Andrea Puggioni

Dolceacqua is situated in the Northern Province of Imperia and very close to the border with France.  It is a small village, but it has some interesting sights to see for a day trip. The castle on the hill was built back in 1151 by the Counts of Ventimiglia. Since then the castle has been passed down through generations and after years of changing hands, attacks and earthquakes, the castle was formally in ruins. However, the castle was recently restored by the Ligurian government and reopened in 2007. The restoration consisted of repairing the main structure, floors and stonework. A conference hall was added with an extra patio and nowadays the castle is host to many cultural events and art exhibitions, and it can be even rented out for special events.

Another interesting site to see in the village is the bridge in Dolceacqua was famously painted by Claude Monet in 1884, and looking at the oil painting in comparison to the real scenery, it still looks very similar today. One of the best photos of the town is taken from a point before the bridge with the castle to be seen up above – one of the most famous viewpoints of Liguria.

Square in Dolceacqua / Luca Galli

One of the highlights of Ligurian cuisine is pesto, a sauce native to the area. Dolceacqua has a few restaurants on offer serving regional specialities such as two hot pastry snacks of the area called barbajuan and fugasan, the latter of which is suitable for vegetarians.  Liguria boasts garden-fresh vegetables which account for other traditional vegetarian dishes of the area such as stuffed courgette flowers and onion pie. Those looking for seafood will not be disappointed- due to its position close to the coast; the seafood is at its best and consists of mouthwatering fish, mussels and clams.

Dolceacqua is very close to the French border so it’s easy to do a day trip- both Nice and Monaco are less than 1 hour away, so you can soak up a bit of French culture as well. The closest city of Ventimiglia is a mere 15 minutes away and has an old town worth exploring as well as nearby Roman ruins and the exquisite Villa Hanbury Botancial Gardens, one of the best that Europe has to offer.

Liguria boasts 300 days of sunshine a year but also a cool sun breeze so you won’t go crazy in the heat. The whole Province has so much for tourists to see that is worth renting a holiday house in Liguria for a week or two so that you can explore everything that the region – and nearby – has to offer. So don’t delay and book a holiday home today!

Vanessa wrote this article for BlumenRiviera, Liguria holiday rental specialists.

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Tags: art exhibitions, best photos, castle on the hill, changing hands, claude monet, delicious food, dolceacqua, medieval buildings, northern province, oil painting, onion pie, regional specialities, steep hill, stereotypical images, stonework, stuffed courgette flowers, stunning views, vegetarian dishes, vegetarians, ventimiglia

Category: Cities, Cities