Ceriale ( lij, O Çejâ, locally ) is a ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region of

Liguria it, Ligure , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, located about southwest of

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

and about southwest of Savona. Ceriale borders the following municipalities:

Albenga Albenga ( lij, Arbenga; la, Albingaunum) is a city and ''comune'' situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Albenga has the nickname of ''city of a hundred spires''. The economy is ...

Balestrino Balestrino ( lij, Barestin or ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. As of 31 December 2011, it had a population of 607 and an ar ...

, Borghetto Santo Spirito, Cisano sul Neva, and

Toirano Toirano ( lij, Tuiran) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Geography Toirano borders the following municipalities: Balestrino ...

Geography

The town is located in the

Riviera di Ponente The Italian Riviera or Ligurian Riviera ( it, Riviera ligure; lij, Rivêa lìgure) is the narrow coastal strip in Italy which lies between the Ligurian Sea and the mountain chain formed by the Maritime Alps and the Apennines. Longitudinall ...

, east of the plain of

, on the slopes of Mount Croce, at an elevation of .

History

The village, an territorial dominion of the bishop of

since the early Middle Ages, was acquired in the 14th century by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the La ...

. In that period the nearby village of ''Capriolo'' was abandoned, according to local sources, as a result of an invasion of

ants Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...

. Following the frequent raids by Saracens on the Ligurian coast, a circular bastion was built adjacent to the beach in 1563; however, the town was again attacked and sackrf by Barbary pirates in 1637. Along with other towns of the Ligurian Riviera, in 1764 Ceriale participated in an uprising against the Republic of Genoa, caused by the heavy tax burden. It became part of the Kingdom of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

in 1815, after the fall of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

; and, in 1861, of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia was proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy and f ...

. From 1973 until 31 December 2008 Ceriale was part of Ingauna Mountain Community, which was terminated by the Liguria Regional Law Number 23, 29 December 2010.

Main sights

Map of comune of Ceriale (Savona, Italy)

Religious architecture

* Parish Church of Saints

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

and Eugene. It houses a 16th century

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

and also numerous blades dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. * Church of Peagna. Adjacent to the cemetery, it is flanked by a tower built in

Baroque style The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

and internally is home to

paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

from the 15th and 16th centuries.

Amusement parks

* ''Water Park'': The Caravelle

Culture

Museums

* ''The Paleontological Museum Silvio Lai'': It was founded in 1993 in the hamlet of Peagna. The museum exhibits the collection of municipal

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

from the nearby Regional Natural Reserve of Rio Torsero, dating back to

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58twinned with: * Sucha Beskidzka, Poland

Economy

The town's main economic resources are tourism and agriculture. Vegetables and flowers are cultivated, in particular

orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Along with the Asteraceae, they are one of the two largest families of flowerin ...

s grown in greenhouses. Industries include shipyards and confectionery plants.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Cities and towns in Liguria