Balestrino ( or ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' (municipality) in the

Province of Savona The province of Savona (; Ligurian language, Ligurian: ''provinsa de Sann-a'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Savona, which has a population of 61,219 inhabitants. The province has a ...

in the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

region

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

, located about southwest of

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

and about southwest of

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

. As of 31 December 2011, it had a population of 607 and an area of .

History

Balestrino is composed by the old historic town, upon a hill, and the new town below it. Abandoned in 1953 for hydrogeological instability, the old centre is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

whereas the modern center is still inhabited today.

Geography

Balestrino borders the following municipalities:

Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beauti ...

Ceriale Ceriale (, locally ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Ceriale borders the following municipalities: Albenga, Balestrino, ...

Cisano sul Neva Cisano sul Neva ( Ligurian: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Located in the Val Neva, the territory of Cisano sul Neva bor ...

Toirano Toirano () 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, Bardineto, ...

, and

Zuccarello Zuccarello (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. Zuccarello borders the following municipalities: Arnasco, Balestrino, Cast ...

. It counts the hamlets (''

frazioni A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' ('municipality') in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidat ...

'') of Bergalla, Borgo, Cuneo, and Poggio.

Demographics

Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.8) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:2000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:1000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:200 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1861 text:1861 bar:1871 text:1871 bar:1881 text:1881 bar:1901 text:1901 bar:1911 text:1911 bar:1921 text:1921 bar:1931 text:1931 bar:1936 text:1936 bar:1951 text:1951 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1971 text:1971 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1991 text:1991 bar:2001 text:2001 bar:2011 text:2011 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:821 bar:1871 from: 0 till:855 bar:1881 from: 0 till:766 bar:1901 from: 0 till:632 bar:1911 from: 0 till:612 bar:1921 from: 0 till:549 bar:1931 from: 0 till:527 bar:1936 from: 0 till:486 bar:1951 from: 0 till:467 bar:1961 from: 0 till:429 bar:1971 from: 0 till:419 bar:1981 from: 0 till:489 bar:1991 from: 0 till:529 bar:2001 from: 0 till:535 bar:2011 from: 0 till:607 PlotData= bar:1861 at:821 fontsize:S text: 821 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:855 fontsize:S text: 855 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:766 fontsize:S text: 766 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:632 fontsize:S text: 632 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:612 fontsize:S text: 612 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:549 fontsize:S text: 549 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:527 fontsize:S text: 527 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:486 fontsize:S text: 486 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:467 fontsize:S text: 467 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:429 fontsize:S text: 429 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:419 fontsize:S text: 419 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:489 fontsize:S text: 489 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:529 fontsize:S text: 529 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:535 fontsize:S text: 535 shift:(-8,5) bar:2011 at:607 fontsize:S text: 607 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

Gallery

File:Balestrino-castello3.jpg, The castle File:Balestrino-municipio.jpg, The new town hall File:Balestrino-ruderi4.jpg, A road in the abandoned old town

Other

*There are small medieval and renaissance crossbows known as balestrino crossbows (aka assassins crossbows).

References

External links

Balestrino official website

Balestrino tourist website
{{authority control Cities and towns in Liguria Ghost towns in Italy