A Sea-View Tower on the Ligurian Riviera: A Trip to Celle Ligure Between Art, History and Good Food

When the fine season arrives, there is an inevitable wish to pop over to the places where the sun is at home and the sea is crystal-clear. That is exactly what we did too, reaching Celle Ligure, whose typical colourful houses immersed in flowers overlook the Riviera di Ponente. We are in the province of Savona, and if the capital is known as the "City of the Popes", thanks to two popes from Savona, Sixtus IV and his nephew Julius II, we discover that in reality Sixtus IV was born in 1414 in a hamlet of Celle Ligure called Pecorile. He is the pontiff after whom the Sistine Chapel is named, which precisely during the pontificate of Julius II was frescoed by Michelangelo. The scent of the sea accompanies us also during the visit to the most important monument of Celle, the church of San Michele Arcangelo.

Indeed, the churchyard in front of the church is formed by a mosaic of more than half a million white and black sea pebbles, collected from 1894 by Don Agostino Delfino and his pupils, on the shoreline between Camogli and Albisola. The stones thus collected were transported to Celle with fishing gozzi. Inside the church there are very precious works of art, including the polyptych "Saint Michael and the Saints", painted in 1535 by Perin del Vaga, a pupil of Raphael. According to legend, the work would be an ex-voto dedicated by the painter to Saint Michael for having found salvation on the beach of Celle Ligure after a shipwreck. Historical facts, however, report that the work had been commissioned from the artist by the fishermen of Celle. Celle Ligure is mentioned in documents for the first time in 1014, and in the 12th century its territory passed to the Marquisate of Ponzone.

And it was precisely Pietro Ivaldi, known as the Mute of Toleto, as a native of the hamlet of Toleto of Ponzone, the homeland of filetto baciato among the hills of the Acqui Alto Monferrato, who created the famous series of paintings depicting episodes from the life of Christ inside the church of San Michele Arcangelo in Celle. During our stay we visit several of the many other beautiful churches, including the Oratory of San Michele and the church of San Giorgio in the hamlet of Sanda. And it is precisely from the hamlet of Sanda that one of the most exciting tourist itineraries of Celle starts, the Botanical Trail, which leads to the place where the historic Torre Bregalla, called Torre di Cardemei, once stood, built on a ridge at 261 metres high as a coastal lookout point to defend against the pirate raids that in the 16th century had greatly intensified.

On the seafront we also admire the church of Nostra Signora della Consolazione, formerly the seat of the convent of Santa Maria della Grotta, characterised by the typically Ligurian external striped decoration. Moving by car towards the west, a breathtaking view opens over the sea and a wonderful view over the colourful houses of Celle that overlook the beach. Precisely on that panoramic stretch of the Aurelia main road we notice the inviting terrace of the Ristorante Torre, where we decide to stop for dinner and not only: we can also stay overnight in the comfortable and bright rooms of the Hotel Torre (there are as many as sixteen), equipped with every comfort, from the TV to the minibar, not to mention the wonderful panoramas that open from the windows over the sea and the hills behind.

After leaving the car in the large car park of the property, we sit on the flower-filled terrace to have something to drink, while for dinner we will move to the large outdoor area, not before having also admired the interior rooms, perfect also for ceremonies, furnished with elegant taste and with details, from the ornaments to the books on display that evoke memories and moments of the history and traditions of Celle. A history of which this restaurant has been an active part for over forty-five years now: "Our family has run the property for three generations now, starting from 1970. After a period during which we had given the place over to management, we took it back in 2006, paying particular attention to the restaurant side.

Today the chef is my son Bruno Giordano and, besides me, my husband Sergio and our son Andrea Giordano in the kitchen, the staff also includes the sommelier and waiter Alessio and the assistant cook Rocco," Mrs Mara explains. It is a close-knit team that has been able to create a lovely environment, standing out thanks to the high quality of the food and wine offerings. "We are part of the alliance between cooks and Slow Food Presidia and we pay the utmost attention to sourcing quality, zero-kilometre ingredients," the owner continues as we begin to taste the first delicacies. Most of our group chooses the Liguria menu, but some also opt for the fish menu or the meat menu, while a friend of ours simply has a single dish chosen à la carte.

We, who would not give up authentic Ligurian flavours for anything in the world, begin with Ligurian street food starters, tasting salt-cod fritters, stuffed anchovies and focaccina with panizza. We continue with a fine plate of fresh trofiette made at home like all the pasta and desserts, and we also taste prescinsöa and potatoes with green beans. We wash down these delicacies with excellent wines chosen from the more than one hundred labels on the rich wine list that ranges across all of Italy, including French wines too, as well as naturally a vast choice of Ligurian wines that we pair with the various dishes following the path suggested by the sommelier. We continue with the queen dish of Ligurian cuisine, the cappon magro, a Slow Food Presidium, as a nice little coloured snail on the menu tells us.

Our "seafaring" friends taste purple prawns with a creamy Stella cheese, Quarantina potato gnocchi with lobster and tarragon, and a main course of the day's catch with Armorican sauce, while the "carnivores" enjoy a selection of Sassello cured meats, tortelli with oven-cooked pancetta and Sardinian pecorino on a cream of broad beans and mint, and fine slices of Piedmontese beef with Barbera and glazed shallots. Our dinner ends in great sweetness thanks to the tasty house desserts, including the semifreddo with amaretto of Sassello and Chinotto of Savona, the cheesecake with paste di meliga from the Monregalese area and Piedmont I.G.P. hazelnut, and a dessert path based on the area's excellent ingredients: many delicacies that make our stay unforgettable, one we will happily repeat in the future too.

Francesca Bertha

FOR INFORMATION:

Hotel Ristorante Torre Via Aurelia Ponente, 20 Celle Ligure (SV) Tel.: 019/993465