Saliceto is full of surprises. More Ligurian than Piedmontese in its atmosphere and urban layout, the historic centre has preserved its maze of caruggi: narrow, winding alleys, often vaulted or shaded by the houses huddled together, typical of Ligurian coastal villages.
These are not so much streets as narrow stone corridors that twist and turn before suddenly opening out into small squares. Saliceto castle, which is open to visitors, dominates the town with its elegant yet solid structure, a testament to the times when power was expressed through style and substance rather than merely through defence.
Ligurian alleyways in the heart of the Alta Langa
Next door, the parish church of San Lorenzo is an unexpected surprise. The richly decorated façade, with grotesques and symbols, some of which are pagan in origin, combines ornamental creativity with proportions clearly inspired by the architect Bramante.
A few kilometres away, in the hamlet of Lignera, is the Romanesque church of San Martino, which can be visited by asking locally for the keys. The interior contains some of the most significant Gothic frescoes in the region, attributed to the Mondovì school, which was particularly vibrant in these valleys between the 14th and 15th centuries. The figures, colours and scenes speak of a refined popular devotion, which achieves surprising levels of expression in a rural location.
