 |
AREA:
20 sq km.
POPULATION:
1,924 HEIGHT
FROM SEA LEVEL (m): 51 WEB
SITE:
www.dolceacqua.it |
Situated
seven kilometres away from the sea, Dolceacqua is divided into the two
districts of Terra and Borgo which are connected by the humpback bridge
over the River Nervia. Built in a strategic position on a rock, its narrow
alleyways and high houses built close together make this a very charming
location. Dolceacqua was part of the feudal domain of the Ventimiglia
aristocracy in the eleventh century, and was bought around 1250 by the
founder of the powerful Doria family. Mentioned in 1177 as "Castrum
Dulzana" (from the Celtic "D'us Aga", meaning "god of
enchantments"), the town has a strict but fascinating layout. Between
Dolceacqua and Camporosso, there lie the remains of a guard-house where
armed soldiers once watched over the roadways.
The oldest parish church is the recently-restored church of San Giorgio:
its façade preserves Romanesque forms, while its interior has a
fourteenth-century decorated truss-beamed ceiling. The crypt was
refurbished in the sixteenth century and holds two Doria tombs. The
convent of Dolceacqua was once an important Benedictine priory.
There have been many archaeolgical finds at San Bernardo: stones with
graffiti, Celtic symbols and a tomb. Remnants of Celtic culture are also
to be found in the tradition of lighting a bonfire on Christmas night or
the traditional Saint Sebastian's Day procession when laurel trees
decorated with coloured communion-wafers are carried through the streets.
The excursions to San Bernardo, Convento, Addolorata and "Ca' du
maigu" take you along old paved mule-tracks between the terraced
hillsides and the olive groves. There is a famous local superior-quality
wine called Rossese di Dolceacqua. Local cuisine offers tasty dishes such
as olive sauce, sun-dried tomatoes, stockfish and a sweet speciality
called "michetta". A local festival dedicated to this speciality
began as a celebration of the abolition of the "jus primae noctis",
an ancient tradition that once allowed a feudal lord to deflower a bride
on her wedding night.
|
