What to see in Noli

Noli is best explored on foot, slowly, looking up as you go. In just a few steps through the caruggi you come across medieval towers, a stone loggia, Romanesque churches and palaces that tell the centuries of the old maritime republic. Here is what to see, monument by monument, all a short walk from the hotel.

The towers

In the Middle Ages Noli counted, so tradition tells, around 72 towers, as many as San Gimignano. Today four of them rise above the rooftops of the old town. The Torre del Comune, beside the town hall, was built in the late thirteenth century: about 33 metres tall, it is recognisable for its swallowtail battlements. The Torre dei Quattro Canti (or Torre del Canto), which stands at a crossing of alleys, is the tallest at 38 metres. Completing the quartet are the Torre Peluffo (24 m, "beheaded") and the Torre Papone (19 m), linked by a distinctive little arched bridge.

The Loggia, the squares and the gates

The civic heart of the old town is the Loggia della Repubblica (14th–15th c.), beneath the town hall: two great stone arches where several plaques recall the notable people of Noli. There is one to Antonio da Noli, the navigator from Noli who around 1460 reached and colonised the islands of Cape Verde for Portugal; one to Giordano Bruno, who stayed in Noli in 1576; and one to Cristoforo Colombo, who according to tradition set sail from the bay of Noli. Dante, too, mentions the town, in the Purgatorio.

You enter the historic centre through the Porta di Piazza, the old gateway in the walls. A short distance away is the Porta (and Torre) di San Giovanni: dating from the fourteenth century, the only one in stone, resting on three elegant pointed brick arches. About 22 metres tall, it is known for leaning, so the story goes, around 80 cm towards the sea.

The churches

The oldest gem stands just outside the walls, towards the sea: the Romanesque church of San Paragorio (11th century), a National Monument since 1890. It was the first cathedral of Noli, until 1572, and preserves the crypt, the three naves, the polychrome ceramic bowls in the apses and ancient stone sarcophagi.

In the old town, the Concattedrale di San Pietro has been a cathedral since 1572, with its portal of 1611 and an interior of three naves. Higher up you come to the church of San Giovanni (14th century), tied to the Knights of Malta, the church of San Francesco (mid-thirteenth century) and, looking out over the sea with a fine view, the church of Nostra Signora delle Grazie. The Oratorio di Sant’Anna, in its present form, was rebuilt from 1759 onwards.

The stone houses

Among the caruggi the typical houses of Noli survive: a base of large blocks of local green stone and an upper part in brick, with mullioned and three-light windows. The best known is Casa Pagliano, a medieval building restored in 1906 by a collaborator of Alfredo D’Andrade, the architect of the Borgo Medievale in Turin. Not far away, Casa Garzoglio preserves the features of the late Middle Ages.

What to see, in brief

• The four towers: del Comune (33 m), dei Quattro Canti (38 m), Peluffo and Papone
• The Loggia della Repubblica and the town hall, with the plaques to the notable people of Noli
• The Porta di Piazza and the Porta di San Giovanni, which leans towards the sea
• San Paragorio (11th c., National Monument) and the Concattedrale di San Pietro
• The churches of San Giovanni, San Francesco, Sant’Anna and Nostra Signora delle Grazie
• The stone houses of the old town: Casa Pagliano and Casa Garzoglio

Photo © Emanuela Leveratto — FotoVagabonde