Mountain village at 711 m in the Alta Val Bormida: Monte Carmo, Rocca Barbena, Romanesque churches, mushrooms and the real story of the Smurf village.
Welcome to Bardineto
Bardineto is a village in the hills behind Savona, at 711 metres on a wooded plateau in the upper Bormida valley (Alta Val Bormida). About 770 people live here, around a compact centre of churches, in a municipality of almost 30 square kilometres where the forest and the footpaths count for more than the houses. Calizzano is less than seven kilometres to the north; towards the sea it borders Loano, Pietra Ligure and Toirano.
People come for three reasons. The first is walking: trails start here for Monte Carmo (1,389 m), for the Rocca Barbena and for the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri. The second is the cool summer air and the autumn, with mushrooms and a festival in September. The third is curiosity: in the woods near the village there are small mushroom-shaped houses that the web calls the “Smurf village”. They are private, and below you will find what you can really do.
This is not a place for beaches or nightlife: the sea is about half an hour away by road (an estimate, check your satnav). Plan half a day or a full day, ideally with a walk. For routes with distances and climbs, see the guide to hiking from Bardineto.
Bardineto is in Liguria (Riviera di Ponente, Riviera delle Palme, province of SV).
What to see
The centre takes about an hour on foot, stops included. The rest, the castle, San Nicolò and the Giogo di Toirano, needs a short walk or the car. Opening hours of museums and churches are not published reliably: if you want to go inside, call the Pro Loco or the town hall first (numbers below).
The heart of the village is the square with the parish church and, next to it, the oratory. On the town hall there is a plaque for Antonio Roasio, a sculptor born in 1809 who died in 1886. The history is long: caves used since prehistory, the Lombards, the monks of San Pietro in Varatella, the Del Carretto marquises and, from the 18th century, Genoa and the House of Savoy.
It was built in 1720 and consecrated on 24 June of that year, St John’s day. The style is Piedmontese Baroque. Opening hours are not confirmed.
The oratory dates from 1650 and stands next to the parish church. It is older than the church. Here too, opening hours are not confirmed.
This is the oldest building in Bardineto: Romanesque, from roughly the 12th century. It was the parish church until 1720 and has been the cemetery church since 1479. It keeps 15th-century frescoes and has been a national monument since 1906. Close by are the remains of a 7th-century Lombard castrum. You reach it on foot from the village by following the signs, on the same path that continues towards the Giogo di Toirano. The municipality lists it in its “Cultura a porte aperte” project with online booking: if you want to see the frescoes, check there before you walk up.
The feudal castle was built in the 13th century by the Del Carretto, marquises of Finale, and had a 16-sided plan. Today only ruins and a stretch of wall remain: do not expect a castle to visit, but a viewpoint over the village. The paths to Monte Carmo start from here. Between 1447 and 1452 Bardineto was a base in the war between the Marquisate of Finale and the Republic of Genoa.
It is housed in a former nursery school and since 2004 has collected objects of country life: tools, household items, implements for the woods. Entry is free. Opening hours are not confirmed: phone before you go up. The town’s website calls it a permanent anthropological museum.
In via Roascio there is a wall with poems on ceramic tiles, linked to the “Italo Carretto” poetry competition, which has run since 2006.
On the web, “the Smurf village of Bardineto” is the most quoted curiosity. The facts: a few small mushroom-shaped houses in the woods, built in the 1960s and 1970s by Mario De Bernardi, a builder who loved mushrooms, a local speciality. They were not built for the Smurfs: the mushroom belongs to the village, and the nickname came later.
Today the houses are mostly private. According to published reports, the owners say they will stay private and complain about visitors who enter despite fences and signs; access was limited to looking and photographing from outside. In 2025 one of the houses appeared on a short-term rental platform. For this reason we give no address and no directions: if you want to stay there, look for the listing and check the current conditions. If you want something to photograph, choose the real mushrooms in September instead.
Around the village there are almost eighty caves, because the ground is limestone and dolomite. The largest is the Buranco di Bardineto, with more than two kilometres of galleries on several levels above an underground stream. A regional itinerary places it five minutes on foot from the road. We found no official sources on visits and access: do not go in alone, because a cave is not a footpath. Ask the Pro Loco or the town hall whether guided visits exist. For a cave you can really visit with a ticket, go to Toirano.
The Giogo di Toirano is a pass at 801 metres, on the road between Borghetto Santo Spirito and Bardineto. There is a picnic area and information panels about the environment. The north side, towards Bardineto, is covered in beech woods; the south side, towards the sea, is drier and warmer. The Alta Via dei Monti Liguri passes here, and many paths to Monte Carmo start from the pass. The road is very popular with cyclists and motorcyclists at weekends.
Monte Carmo di Loano (also called Carmo del Finale) is the highest peak in the area, at 1,389 metres. Its slopes form a European protected area made of woods and ridges; plants include rhododendron, dwarf juniper, Ligurian gentian and the Savona bellflower. You reach the summit by paths from the Giogo di Toirano, from Bardineto or from Boissano. The path network is dense and the waymarks are mixed: read the guide to hiking before you set out.
The Rocca Barbena is a spire of rock in the territory of Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, reached from Bardineto by the road to the Colle Scravaion. From the top you see the sea on one side and the Ligurian Alps on the other. The route from Bardineto is long: those who have done it report poor waymarking as far as the Bric Schenasso.
Where to stay
Accommodation is scarce and small. Booking platforms list hotels, bed and breakfasts and farm stays, but we have not checked individual names, so we do not name them. For motorhomes there is a parking area on the provincial road 52, near the centre, with eight pitches and electricity (data from a specialist portal: confirm with the town hall).
If you plan the longer hikes, sleep in the village and start at dawn. If you need the sea, the coast between Loano and Pietra Ligure has many more places to stay and Bardineto is an easy day trip. In summer book early; from November to March many places are closed or have reduced hours, and it can snow.
Getting there
By car
A10, exit Borghetto S. Spirito or Finale Ligure, then a mountain road (19 km from Toirano) ⚠️
By train
No station: get off at Borghetto Santo Spirito, Loano or Pietra Ligure, then bus or taxi ⚠️
By plane
Genoa is the most convenient with scheduled flights; Nice and Turin are further ⚠️
There are two ways. The first leaves the A10 at Borghetto Santo Spirito (or Pietra Ligure), goes through Toirano and climbs to the Giogo di Toirano: from Toirano to Bardineto it is about 19 km of mountain road. The second leaves at Finale Ligure and climbs towards the Melogno pass and Calizzano, then drops to Bardineto: the regional portal gives about 20 minutes from the toll gate, but check the time on your satnav. From Calizzano to Bardineto it is 6.9 km. From Albenga, via Zuccarello and Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena, it is 31 km. In winter there may be snow or ice: carry chains or winter tyres.
There is no station in Bardineto. The nearest are on the coastal line: Borghetto Santo Spirito, Loano and Pietra Ligure. From there you need a taxi or a bus.
We found no reliable timetable for Bardineto. For Calizzano and the Bormida valley ask TPL Linea (tpllinea.it); without a car, plan with plenty of margin.
The most convenient airport with scheduled flights is Genoa; Nice and Turin are further away. From any airport you need a rental car or a transfer.
The centre is small and we have no official data on car parks: on festival days, in September, arrive early and leave the car outside the heart of the village. Parking for the Rocca Barbena loop is near the cemetery.
The guide
Bardineto is above all a starting point. Three routes are best known. The first is the loop of Monte Carmo and the Bric Agnellino, 22 kilometres with about 1,350 metres of climbing, 6 to 8 hours, graded E (hiking): it starts at the castle and passes Casa Cormore, the Acquetta forest, the Giogo di Toirano and the chapel of San Nicolò. The second is the Rocca Barbena loop, about 28 kilometres, for fit walkers who can navigate. The third is for bicycles: the Anello delle Quattro Cascine, about 18 kilometres on dirt tracks, for mountain bike or gravel.
Full details, and warnings, are in the guide to hiking from Bardineto. Ask the tourist office for trail maps. Weather changes fast at 1,000 metres: start early and check the forecast on the Bardineto weather page.
Bardineto is known for mushrooms, especially porcini. In mid-September, usually over a weekend, the national Festa del Fungo d’Oro takes place. In 2026 it was the 42nd edition, on 19 and 20 September at the Palafungo, with food stands, local products, music and a hot-air balloon flight. The sources do not agree on every date, so check the Pro Loco pages each year if you want to go: the 2027 dates are not confirmed yet.
If you want to pick mushrooms, find out first about rules, permits and limits: they can change from one municipality to another. Eat only mushrooms checked by an expert.
The food is mountain food and rests on the plateau’s produce: mushrooms, potatoes, milk and cheese. Raspberries are also picked in the area. We give no names of places: phone or check recent reviews before you go, because in such a small village opening times change with the season. In September, during the festival, you find dishes at the Palafungo.
Weather
May-June and September-October (trails, mushrooms); cool summer; snow in winter
Forecast: MET Norway (Yr), CC BY 4.0 licence. Updated hourly.
Bardineto weather: 10-day forecast and climate →
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season | Off season |
| Sightseeing and hiking | Possible | Possible | Possible | Good | Ideal | Ideal | Ideal | Ideal | Ideal | Ideal | Possible | Possible |
| Crowds | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Few people | Few people | Few people | Busy | Busy | Busy | Few people | Quiet | Quiet |
| Don't miss | San Rocco feast (16 August) | Golden Mushroom Festival (mid-September) | ||||||||||
IdealGoodPossibleOff season
Crowds:QuietFew peopleBusyVery busy
Gallery
FAQ
No, not as an attraction: the mushroom houses are mostly private, and so far the owners have asked people to photograph them from outside only. Do not enter the properties.
In mid-September. In 2026 it was on 19 and 20 September. The 2027 dates are not confirmed yet: check with the Pro Loco.
We found no official confirmation about visits and access. Do not go in without a guide, and ask the Pro Loco or the town hall.
Monte Carmo (1,389 m), the Rocca Barbena and the Giogo di Toirano on the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri. The routes are in the hiking guide.
No. The nearest station is on the coast, for example Borghetto Santo Spirito, and then you need a bus or a taxi.
About half an hour by road, depending on where you arrive. The nearest places are Loano, Pietra Ligure and Toirano.
From May to October for walking; mid-September for the mushroom festival. In winter it can snow and many services have reduced hours.
The numbers given by a specialist portal are 019 7907013 for the town hall and 019 7907228 for the Pro Loco (from abroad +39): phone for opening times of the museum, churches and visits.
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