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 Toirano Caves - Photo © rockrose
Toirano and its Caves
The area of karsts in Val Varatella, included in
its territory, contains over fifty caves that even
open in the sheer walls of the small side valleys
and in the spectacular Salto del Lupo. All the
archeological finds made in these caves are on
show in the Museo Preistorico della Val
Varatella.
The locality was inhabited in the
Roman era and during the Middle Ages
belonged to the bishops of Albenga, under
whom it obtained its own statutes. Disputed
between the Genoese and the marchesi di
Finale, it was assigned to Genoa by Pope Urban
VI in 1395.
 Toirano - Photo © pulce
The characteristic town still has a
number of structures from this period, including
several large towers, part of the ancient walls
and a bridge with three arches. The parish
churches of San Martino and the Rosario date
from the seventeenth century.
The shrine of Santa Lucia, above the cave of the same name,
has a spring that is believed to have miraculous
powers for the restoration of sight and attracts
many pilgrims. The church of San Pietro dei
Monti, which once belonged to the ancient and
powerful Benedictine abbey, stands on a
panoramic rocky hill offering a view of the
whole town.
A link with the farming
community of the past is provided by the Museo Etnografico della Val Varatella, housed
in what used to be the stables of the palace of
the marchesi del Carretto, formerly the Palazzo
dell’Aste.
The institution was set up in 1982,
when a collection of implements and objects
connected with the growing of olives and the
production of oil began to be assembled. The
museum now boasts collections of various
kinds, relating to the agriculture, crafts and
daily life of the Val Varatella, with a total of a
thousand objects on show, dating from between
the beginning of the seventeenth century and
the beginning of the twentieth.
Text under Creative Commons License
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