Varigotti

The historic centre is a compact cluster of low houses painted yellow, pink, ochre and blue, with small terraces and flat roofs. The seaward façades open straight onto the beach; behind them runs a narrow lane (carruggio) with small squares, arches and passages down to the water. It is a limited traffic zone, so it is pleasant on foot.

The classic photo is taken from the pier or the shoreline looking east, with the coloured houses and the hill of Punta Crena behind.

The headland closing Varigotti to the east is Punta Crena: an old olive grove above the cliffs, with a watchtower on top. The squat, square two-storey tower you see today dates from the early 19th century and was built on the remains of older towers, with a semicircular platform for cannons in front. It watched over the sea between Noli and Finale.

It is about a 15-minute walk up from the Via Aurelia, starting where the mule track to San Lorenzo begins. The path is easy but uneven: not suitable for pushchairs.

The plateau on the headland holds the remains of the first Varigotti. Excavations in recent decades confirmed a Byzantine castrum of the 6th–7th century and a medieval castle with several rings of walls. The castrum protected the natural harbour in the bay to the east, today’s Baia dei Saraceni. According to the chronicles, Rothari destroyed it in 643, when the Lombards took Liguria from Byzantium.

Stretches of Byzantine wall survive on the north-west side of the plateau, with 12th–14th-century walls on the east side. In the dry-stone walls you will spot large green stones, thought to have arrived as ships’ ballast. Tradition says that in 1341 Genoa destroyed the castle and filled in the harbour. Entry is free; for guided visits ask the Museo Archeologico del Finale.

Halfway up the headland, above the Baia dei Saraceni, stands the oldest church in the area. Late Roman burials were found here, together with a 6th–7th-century inscription bearing the name Anatolius and a 4th-century Roman sarcophagus reworked in the 8th century, now on display in the Archaeological Museum in Finalborgo. In 1127 the bishop of Albenga gave the church to the monks of Lérins Abbey in Provence; it remained Varigotti’s parish church until 1586.

It takes about 20 minutes on the mule track marked with a red X, the same waymark as the Pilgrim’s Path. The church is usually seen from outside only: the interior is bare, but the position above the bay is worth the climb.

This is the headland’s signature photo: a large natural cave in the cliff, with a round opening framing the sea. Tradition says smugglers and counterfeiters hid here, hence the name (“Forgers’ Cave”); it is also called Grotta dei Briganti. It is not on the main trail: you reach it by a side path marked with unofficial painted signs, then a steep, uneven descent with fixed ropes on the trickiest parts. The drop is sheer: no beach shoes, and keep children close.