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The road that crosses the Centocroci pass will take you from the Riviera of Sestri Levante to the Parma region and after about 11 kilometers you will find Castiglione Chiavarese located on a slope cultivated with olives. From the town you can see Missano with is high black and white striped bell tower. Velva is on the right and you can notice Monte San Nicolao and the top of Pietra della Vasca. This has been a residential area since ancient times and recent findings in the Tana delle Fate cave highlight Neolithic discoveries. Even the place-name Castiglione means more then just the presence of a Medieval castle, it also means castle ruins that date back to Prehistoric times where nearby populations would find refuge in this stronghold.
Different experts believe that this area marked a boundary between the Etruscans and the Ligurian’s. In the late Imperial period, from the 4th to the 5th century A.C., it is believed that the Parish Church of Castiglione headed to St. Anthony, a martyr of the Thebes legion, was built. It is difficult to summarize the Medieval events of the area since the Ligurian hinterland during this time was characterized by the lack of feuds and a well defined social hierarchy. In fact, the monks had a great influence on the people and it has been documented that on the territory there were monks that came from the Bobbio and San Fruttuoso di Capodimonte monastery’s.
The monk influence was replaced by the Conti of Lavagna, while from an administrative point of view Castiglione depended on the rule of the Sestri Levante podestà. In the 15th century it became an autonomous podestà and it was free from all feudal ties and later it joined the Republic of Genoa. The name Castiglione Chiavarese was present even during the geographic discoveries of Giovanni Caboto, a navigator who was born here. The town depended on the agricultural sector and it experienced a great advancement in quality due to the monk influence. The followers of San Benedetto from Norcia and those of San Colombano spread in the area the cultivation of olives and vineyards. In this way they showed the population the secrets and techniques of wine making and today the Ligurian wine growers of Castiglione are the by far the best.
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