Cairo Montenotte

The old core is rectangular and is crossed by via Roma, the main street, lined with stately buildings. Lower down, towards the river, is via dei Portici, with arches and covered passages. If you arrive by train, the station is a few steps away, so you can start here without a car.

Two gates survive from the medieval walls: Porta Soprana, with a tower, at the southern end of via Roma, and Porta Sottana, to the north. Sources date Porta Soprana differently, between the 12th and 15th centuries (one entry says 14th): don’t rely on a single date. They are the two most photographed spots in town, and the best place to understand how the village was laid out: one street, two gates, the castle above. Stretches of the town walls also remain.

Piazza Stellani is overlooked by the Palazzo Marchionale, a building of medieval origin with an old sundial on its façade. You see it from outside; there is no confirmed information about visits inside. From the squares and streets of the centre you get a good view of the castle ruins on the hill.

Cairo castle, which belonged to the Del Carretto family from 1214, is now a ruin on a sandstone spur at about 380 metres, above the centre. It was destroyed in the 17th century, during the war between Genoa and the House of Savoy; sources give 1625 or 1627, and the date of construction is also uncertain (between the 11th and 13th centuries). You climb from corso Verdese, taking the municipal road of Sant’Anna: from Porta Soprana the Touring Club gives about 10 minutes on foot. The climb is steep, and there is no waymarked path or opening time: wear suitable shoes, avoid it after rain and don’t go into the unsafe parts.

The parish church is dedicated to St Lawrence, the town’s patron saint (feast day 10 August). It is first mentioned in 1190; it was enlarged after the plague of 1630 and completed in 1642, and it is a national monument. Inside are frescoes by Paolo Gerolamo Brusco, statues by Antonio Brilla and a crucifix attributed to Anton Maria Maragliano. Opening hours are not confirmed: if it is closed, you can still see the bell tower and the façade from the street.

The sanctuary of Nostra Signora delle Grazie stands where, in Roman and early medieval times, there was a rustic villa and a Benedictine monastery: documents mention San Donato as early as 992. Near Porta Piemonte is the former oratory of San Sebastiano, and outside the walls the chapel of San Rocco, built after the plague of 1599. They are small buildings, handy for a stroll but best seen from outside: opening hours are not confirmed.

Palazzo Scarampi, from the 17th century, houses the town library and the Ferrania Film Museum, which tells the story of the Ferrania film factory through cameras, products, adverts and photographs. The visit follows the rooms: factory, company culture, design, the photographic and X-ray divisions, colour and cinema, the workers’ village. It is Cairo’s only museum, and worth the trip if you love photography or the history of work. The opening hours we found contradict each other and there is no clear official source: before you set out, write to ferraniafilmmuseum@gmail.com or check the museum website. The whole story, and what you can actually see, is in our feature Ferrania Film Museum.

Ferrania is a hamlet at about 365 metres, with a railway station. The film factory was founded here in 1917 and for decades was a name in Italian photography and cinema. Part of the plant is now an industrial area, and FILM Ferrania still makes black-and-white film. It is not a park to visit: the factory has no regular tours, only occasional events. Ferrania is also home to the abbey founded in 1097, now the church of Santi Pietro e Paolo, and to the workers’ village built for the employees.

About 3 km from the centre, Rocchetta Cairo is a separate settlement: its castle is mentioned from 1235 and was damaged in the battle of Dego in 1794, and the parish church is dedicated to St Andrew. In late May or early June a re-enactment, the Rocchetta Medievale, is held here (2026 dates not confirmed).

Montenotte Superiore is a hamlet about 15 km from the centre, at 659 metres, where on 11–12 April 1796 Napoleon’s French army defeated the Austro-Piedmontese. A rock memorial with a cross, put up in 1996 for the bicentenary, marks the spot of the former chapel of Santa Croce. The 1796 trenches are in the Adelasia reserve, at Bric Tesoro. We found no museum on the spot: it is a place of remembrance, for those who know the history or like battlefields.