Diano Castello () 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 Imperia The province of Imperia (; ; ) is a mountainous and hilly Provinces of Italy, province in the Liguria region of Italy, situated between France to the north and the west, and the Ligurian Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Its capi ...

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 northeast of

Imperia Imperia (; or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini create ...

. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,061 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics: Italian statistical institute

Istat The Italian National Institute of Statistics (; Istat) is the primary source of official statistics in Italy. The institute conducts a variety of activities, including the census of population, economic censuses, and numerous social, economic, a ...

. Diano Castello borders the following municipalities:

Diano Arentino Diano Arentino () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about north of Imperia. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 648 and an area of .All demogr ...

Diano Marina Diano Marina (, or simply ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region of Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northeast of Imperia. Geography The municipality of Diano Marina contains the ' ...

, Diano San Pietro,

, and

San Bartolomeo al Mare San Bartolomeo al Mare () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Imperia in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about northeast of Imperia. San Bartolomeo al Mare borders the following municipalities: An ...

. The hills surrounding the village are covered with olive groves and with vineyards that produce

Vermentino Vermentino is a light-skinned wine grape variety, primarily found in Italian wine. It is widely planted in both Sardinia and Liguria, to some extent in Corsica, in Piedmont under the name Favorita, and in increasing amounts in Languedoc-Roussillo ...

, a white wine. It is one of

I Borghi più belli d'Italia () is a non-profit private association of small Italian towns of strong historical and artistic interest, that was founded in March 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities, with the a ...

("The most beautiful villages of Italy").

History

As the name of the municipality suggests, it was originally built in the 10th century as a fortification (''Castrum Diani'') against incursions by the

Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...

pirates. As with many villages around

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 ...

, it later became a fief of the Clavesana marquisate, who built a fortress and ruled till the second half of the 12th century. In the 14th century, Diano Castello became a free municipality (''Communitas Diani''), that controlled the surrounding villages. It later became part of the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Maritime republics, maritime republic from the years 1099 to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italy, Italian coast. During the Late Middle Ages, it was a major commercial power in ...

. The people of this village fought along with

against

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

in the

Battle of Meloria (1284) The Battle of Meloria was fought near the islet of Meloria in the Ligurian Sea on 5 and 6 August 1284 between the fleets of the Republics of Genoa and Pisa as part of the Genoese-Pisan War. The victory of Genoa and the destruction of the Pisa ...

. In 1747 it became part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. In 1797 it came under French rule when it was conquered by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. In 1815 it was assigned to the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...

. Finally, in 1860 it became part of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. The earthquake of 1887 inflicted serious damage to the churches and the historical monuments

Churches and monuments

* Church of San Nicola di Bari : The original medieval church dates from before the 12th century. It became the parish church in 1223. The present building is the work of Giobatta and Giacomo Filippo Marvaldi, who rebuilt it in

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

between 1699 and 1725. The interior is decorated with polychrome marble ornamentation. The main altar is embellished with marble

intarsia Intarsia is a form of wood inlaying that is similar to marquetry. The practice dates from before the seventh century AD. The technique inserts sections of wood (at times with contrasting ivory or bone, or mother-of-pearl) within the solid wood ...

. The wooden choir in the apse dates from the 18th century. The wooden crucifix above the altar is ascribed to

Anton Maria Maragliano Anton Maria Maragliano (18 September 1664 – 7 March 1739) was an Italian sculptor of the Baroque period, known primarily for his wooden statues. He was born in Genoa, where he led an important workshop. He is called also Maraggiano by some ...

. * Church of St. John the Baptist (Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista) is situated at the northern side of the village. It was built in

Romanesque style Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe that was predominant in the 11th and 12th centuries. The style eventually developed into the Gothic style with the shape of the arches providing a simple distinction: the Ro ...

around 1,000 A.D. It was modified in the 12th century when the three-naved structure was replaced by a single nave. The finely painted wooden roofing truss dates from the 15th century, but was heavily restored in the 19th century. The paintings depict saints, the cycle of the months and people labouring in the fields. *Church of Santa Maria Assunta : this Romanesque church retains the apse that was built in the 13th century. Its arches rest on

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

corbel In architecture, a corbel is a structural piece of stone, wood or metal keyed into and projecting from a wall to carry a wikt:superincumbent, bearing weight, a type of bracket (architecture), bracket. A corbel is a solid piece of material in t ...

s. There are several frescoes in Baroque and

Renaissance style Renaissance architecture is the European architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 16th centuries in different regions, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of Ancient Greece, ancient Greek and ...

. Recent restorations revealed 14th-century frescoes by Antonio Monregalese. * Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli *Oratory of San Bernardino and the Holy Cross : dating from the late Middle Ages and was largely restored in the 17th century. *Franciscan convent : dates from the 16th century. The altarpiece is an oil on canvas depicting St. Peter of Alcantara, by

Giovanni Battista Carlone Giovanni Battista Carlone (1603–1684) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period, active mainly in Genoa. Biography Carlone was born and died in Genoa. He came from a family of artists: his father Taddeo, uncle, and cousins were sculptors, ...

. * The city hall (Palazzo comunale) was built in the 15th century as the residence of the Counts Quaglia. It contains a large fresco on the façade of the building representing the Genoese victory at the Battle of Meloria. Image:Diano Castello-P1010240.JPG, Church of San Nicolò di Bari Image:Diano Castello-P1010253.JPG Image:Diano Castello-P1010243.JPG Image:Diano Castello-P1010252.JPG

Demographic evolution

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:455 height:303 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:50 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:3000 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 PlotData= color:barra width:20 align:left bar:1861 from: 0 till:999 bar:1871 from: 0 till:975 bar:1881 from: 0 till:902 bar:1901 from: 0 till:999 bar:1911 from: 0 till:1087 bar:1921 from: 0 till:975 bar:1931 from: 0 till:941 bar:1936 from: 0 till:973 bar:1951 from: 0 till:920 bar:1961 from: 0 till:1097 bar:1971 from: 0 till:1201 bar:1981 from: 0 till:1204 bar:1991 from: 0 till:1506 bar:2001 from: 0 till:1885 PlotData= bar:1861 at:999 fontsize:XS text: 999 shift:(-8,5) bar:1871 at:975 fontsize:XS text: 975 shift:(-8,5) bar:1881 at:902 fontsize:XS text: 902 shift:(-8,5) bar:1901 at:999 fontsize:XS text: 999 shift:(-8,5) bar:1911 at:1087 fontsize:XS text: 1087 shift:(-8,5) bar:1921 at:975 fontsize:XS text: 975 shift:(-8,5) bar:1931 at:941 fontsize:XS text: 941 shift:(-8,5) bar:1936 at:973 fontsize:XS text: 973 shift:(-8,5) bar:1951 at:920 fontsize:XS text: 920 shift:(-8,5) bar:1961 at:1097 fontsize:XS text: 1097 shift:(-8,5) bar:1971 at:1201 fontsize:XS text: 1201 shift:(-8,5) bar:1981 at:1204 fontsize:XS text: 1204 shift:(-8,5) bar:1991 at:1506 fontsize:XS text: 1506 shift:(-8,5) bar:2001 at:1885 fontsize:XS text: 1885 shift:(-8,5) TextData= fontsize:S pos:(20,20) text:Data from ISTAT

References

External links

Visit to the town
{{authority control Cities and towns in Liguria Borghi più belli d'Italia

History

Churches and monuments

Demographic evolution

See also

References

External links