Dolcedo, the rural gourmet gem of the Imperiese

 

Set in the Val Prino - a rural valley of the province of Imperia - Dolcedo is a place of stunning beauty. In ancient times this pleasant feature was recognized by both the Clavesana household and the Genoese: a story of fights, negotiations and common opponents – namely, the inhabitants of the Piazza (i.e. the main settlement of the village) who fiercely fought against the Marquis and the Superba.

 

Centuries later, nowadays the borgo aims at a proper balance of tradition and innovation: “local” is the valley’s main strength, the strongest of links between past and future. It comes as no surprise that Dolcedo is the choice destination of multicultural tourism targets: Germans have been buying houses and farmhouses for decades, their buen retiro in the entroterra of the riviera. Olive farming (taggiasca rules) literally shaped the place and the vicissitudes of its inhabitants, forced to move down the valley in order to build water-operated oil mills. The frantoio Ghiglione still treasures its 100-year old tradition and provides EVO, organic products, pesto, olive and artichoke pâtés… a cornucopia of Ligurian taste displayed in its retail outlet. 

 

Which are Dolcedo’s miss-nots? The answer includes its historical centre, its rich churches, the Monte di Pietà (i.e. Mount of Piety, one of the first in Liguria), its nice frazioni (i.e. hamlets): Lecchiore, with its tiny laghetti (i.e. tiny lakes, water springs); Bellissimi, known for the Balui feast, small paper balloons floating in the air in the first week of September on occasion of the celebration of the Madonna di Misericordia. According to local lore, in June 1790 Jacques Etienne Montgolfier reached Dolcedo with his pet monkey Elio and fell in love with the views, dreaming of fantastic flights …

 

My English abstract of the article as published on LiguriaFood

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