Cisano sul Neva

Overview

A medieval village on the left bank of the Neva, upstream of its confluence with the Centa, it also comprises the hamlets of Consciente, dominated by its many-towered medieval castle, and Cenesi, hidden in a small side valley. The ancient village of Cisano, property of the marchesi of Clavesana, was acquired and fortified by the commune of Albenga in 1274, and then transferred to Genoa at the end of the thirteenth century. Consciente, on the other hand, has been the fief of a whole series of different families: the Cepolini, Fieschi, Costa and Del Carretto (1723). The castle, perfectly preserved along with its towers, dates from the fifteenth century. Cisano still has its original quadrangular plan, with a tower set at each corner of the settlement. The eighteenth-century parish church of Santa Maria Maddalena stands opposite the civic tower, converted from a late Romanesque campanile. The so-called 'tower of the Saracens', set on the national highway to Albenga, is in reality a crude tomb from the Roman era. Local farmers produce olives, fruit, a prized variety of wine grapes and vegetables.

History