Pigna
The capital of the upper end of the Nervia Valley is surely Pigna, if for nothing else but for its historical past and for its wealth of artistic monumental patrimony. From the lowest point to its highest this ancient village clings tightly together to the slope (like a pine cone). Its houses built each on the roof of the other, a unique compact fortress. The main streets are set out in concentric circle joining up with each other by majestic alleys, steep paths, dark alleys and the “CHIBI”, dialect for very dark gloomy alleys, to close themselves around the “COLLA” (PEAK), the highest point of the village. From here you can enjoy a splendid panoramic view of the valley, which, suddenly stops as it meets slopes covered by chestnut woods and oak trees in the shaded zone and olive groves in the sunny zone, higher up pastures.
The historical centre is dominated by the church of San Michele, built in 1200 and restored in the xv century. The front of the church is in black stone characterized by the statue of Saint Michael Killing the demon and embellished with a white marble rose window composed of twelve posts, symbolizing the Apostles, which converge in the centre where the Agnus Dei standard is. Inside is kept the polyptych painted by Canavesio in 1500.
At the side of the church the 56 meter high belfry with its squared stoned spire is the barycenter of the village.
