The arcades of Pieve di Teco

What a Pieve arcade looks like

The arcades of corso Ponzoni are large pointed arches, about 7 metres high on a span of 8. They are not a single public work but the sum of many house arcades: individual families built them, and the height was in proportion to the owner’s wealth. A rule of the Republic of Genoa set a minimum height, so the row stayed continuous.

Look up and you can see the marks of workshop life: rings and pulleys fixed to the vaults, used for weighing scales and for hoisting loads, and small windows opened in the vaults. Under the arcades open the fondachi, underground entrances found in almost every house in the centre: cellars, some as long as the whole house, others as short as the arcade alone. Some have a stone column holding up the vault.

Why they are here: a short history

The “new borgo”, that is today’s Pieve, was founded in 1233 through an agreement between the valley people and the marquis Antonio di Clavesana, which provided for at least 200–300 families. In 1386 the town passed to the Republic of Genoa, which turned it into a border stronghold facing Piedmont, with its own Captain. It was a century of expansion: the town council places the start of the arcades in the 15th century, built for trade and to show the families’ rank.

A land register of 1533 shows that the town had reached roughly its present extent inside the walls and that the arcades were almost complete: from then on it grew outside, uphill and towards the Borghetto. In 1625 the House of Savoy took the town and destroyed the castle, but the arcades survived. Other sites call them 16th-century: there is no contradiction, because construction lasted more than a hundred years.

Walking route under the arcades

A full walk takes an hour and a half or two hours, stops included. There are no official signs, so the route below is a suggested order.

1. One of the two little squares: the main street ends in two squares, and the Collegiate Church of San Giovanni Battista faces onto one of them. Start here to see the neoclassical façade.
2. Corso Ponzoni, from one end to the other: walk on the shaded side and look up for the rings and pulleys. The town hall is Palazzo Borelli, a 19th-century building handed over to the town council in 1903.
3. Via Piave: lower, narrower, shallower arcades with a more archaic look, with houses that have outside staircases.
4. Piazza Brunengo: an arch at the start of via Piave and a tall old house, restored with exposed stone.
5. Borghetto and the church of the Concezione: the district that grew outside the walls, with a small church with a façade from 1753.
6. Madonna della Ripa: the old parish church of 1370, now a diocesan museum.

Via Umberto I, near the Collegiate Church, has no arcades (one isolated, unsafe one remains), but it has very old houses and a tall, narrow arch.

When to go: market, fairs and rain

The antiques market (every last Sunday of the month, about 150 stallholders according to the town council, even in the rain), the Expo Valle Arroscia in early September and the October Fair are all held under the arcades. If you want to see the arcades empty, go on a weekday; if you want to see them full, choose one of these dates. In the rain the arcades give shelter: it is one of the reasons the town is a good visit in autumn too.

For the rest of the village, from the museums to the theatre, read the guide to Pieve di Teco. For a trip nearby, see Dolcedo, Zuccarello and Imperia.