Aurigo
Edited by:
Massimo Martini
Access
The municipality can be reached from the Ligurian coast along the state road del Col di Nava, which runs up the Impero Valley from Imperia towards Piedmont. From the Imperia exit on the motorway, known as the Autostrada dei Fiori (Flower motorway), take the state road north to Borgomaro, where the provincial road branches off towards the eastern ridge of the valley and leads to the municipal capital. A slip road provides a connection to the hamlet of Poggialto. The railway station of reference is Imperia, served by Trenitalia (TI) on the Genoa-Ventimiglia coastal line; from there the connection to the interior is by road only. Local public transport is guaranteed by Riviera Trasporti with direct runs to the main centres of the Impero Valley, with reduced frequency on holidays. There are no seasonal criticalities on the ordinary access roads to the municipality.
.Introduction
Aurigo is a municipality of the Imperia hinterland located in the Impero Valley, on the eastern side of the middle valley, about fifteen kilometres north-west of Imperia. The territory extends from 205 metres at the bottom of the valley, where the Impero stream flows, to the 1218 metres of Monte Guardiabella, which marks the border with the municipality of Borgomaro. The main town stands on a ridge at an altitude of 431 metres, in a dominant position with respect to the valley below, with a predominantly southern exposure that has determined favourable conditions for human settlement since ancient times: the place name most likely derives from the Latin apricus, meaning exposed to the sun. The neighbouring municipalities are Borgomaro to the north, Pieve di Teco to the north-east and Rezzo to the east. The earliest documentary evidence dates back to the 13th century, when the Counts of Ventimiglia were lords of the territory and built a castle around which the oldest settlement developed. The agricultural vocation of the municipality, centred on the cultivation of olives and figs, has left a lasting mark on the local identity and the morphology of the agricultural landscape.
Description
The Aurigo area occupies a hilly, sub-mountainous sector of the Impero Valley, characterised by a succession of terraces built by hand along the slopes by means of a dense network of dry stone walls that support the cultivated land. The olive grove, with the predominant taggiasca cultivar, extends up to an altitude of about 600 metres, gradually leaving room for chestnut groves and mixed oak scrub (Quercus pubescens) in the higher reaches. Mount Guardiabella, which is the highest point of the municipal territory, belongs to the system of reliefs that divides the Impero Valley from the Pennavaira Valley.
The first settlement structures developed around the parish church of Sant'Andrea, located in a higher position than the present-day town, which was for centuries the centre of religious aggregation for the populations scattered around the farmsteads. At the end of the 13th century, the Counts of Ventimiglia erected a castle around which a new urban centre was formed; the defensive structure was destroyed in two stages, with the second demolition carried out by the Lascaris of Tenda in 1480. In the 16th century, the palace of the De Gubernatis family, descendants of the Counts of Ventimiglia, took over as the central architectural element of the village: renovated in 1690, the palace still stands at the northern end of the village with its original portal and coat of arms. In 1575, the territory passed, together with the municipalities of Maro and Prelà, to the Marquisate of Doria, later to enter the Savoy orbit. The village stretches longitudinally along the ridge, with the internal road system organised on narrow caruggi, characteristic of vernacular Ligurian architecture.
Oil production is still the main agricultural activity in the municipality; the extra virgin olive oil obtained from the Taggiasca variety is marketed by small local producers and is recognised in the Imperia area for its quality. Another traditional crop, which has almost disappeared today, was fig cultivation: pan de fighe, a sweet prepared with fresh figs dried in their leaves, was an identity product of the municipality to the point that the inhabitants were known in the valley by the dialectal nickname of figaléi. The municipality preserves a deep-rooted musical tradition, documented in the form of confraternities, liturgical chants and secular repertoires linked to village festivals.
The religious heritage includes, in addition to the parish church of the Nativity of Mary in the historic centre, the Sanctuary of San Paolo, located above the town on the route of the ancient Via Marenca, a historic mule-track route between Liguria and Piedmont that carried goods and livestock until modern times. Hiking in the Aurigo area mainly takes place on paths through the terraced olive groves and chestnut groves on the slope, with the possibility of loop itineraries connecting the main town with the hamlets of Guardiabella and Poggialto and the neighbouring municipalities through the network of historic mule tracks that can still be travelled.
.Information
General Data
Area: 9.14 km²
Main elevation: 431m
Main elevation: 1,218m - Monte Guardiabella
Number of inhabitants: 347 (as of [to be completed])
Name in dialect: Aurigu
Name of the inhabitants: aurighesi
Patron Saint: San Paolo (29 June)
Neighbouring communities: Borgomaro - Pieve di Teco - Rezzo
Province: Imperia
Region of affiliation: Liguria
Country of affiliation: Italy
Institutional site: https://www.comune.aurigo.im.it