Holiday apartment in Favale di Malvaro – Culture and Monte Caucaso

If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Favale di Malvaro, you will find an unusually wide range of opportunities here for a journey between cultural history, mountain landscapes and local traditions. The Museo dell’Emigrante “Casa Giannini” is dedicated to the history of Ligurian emigration and to Amedeo Pietro Giannini, the founder of Bank of America. It is housed in an 18th-century building that was restored in 1983. Admission is free and visits are possible by prior appointment.

Combine a holiday apartment in Favale di Malvaro with cultural discoveries

The Cimitero Valdese also tells of a complex past. It is considered a place of great historical and spiritual importance and is associated with a history of faith, persecution and religious resistance that dates back to the mid-19th century. Its origins are linked to the Cereghino family, who bore the nickname “Scialìn” (“gli Allegri”), came from the Castello district and were a family of cantastorie.

The Santuario di Nostra Signora del Rosario is the seat of the parish of San Vincenzo in the Val Fontanabuona vicariate of the Diocese of Chiavari. Another religious attraction is located on Monte Caucaso: the Cappella del Monte Caucaso stands at its summit, a few steps from the refuge of the same name. After a torchlight procession from Barbagelata, a midnight mass is held there on New Year’s Eve.

Monte Caucaso, trails and mountain landscapes

The “Monte Caucaso” ZSC area, with the code IT1331811, is a mountain area with limited anthropogenic influence. Beech forests, springs, streams and well-preserved rocky habitats shape this natural area, which extends across the municipalities of Favale di Malvaro and Moconesi. The Anello del Caucaso runs around Monte Caucaso through Neirone, Moconesi, Favale di Malvaro and Lorsica. This circular route is linked to a mountain-bike trail known as the Ciclovia dell’Ardesia.

A section of the Alta Via dei Monti Liguri runs at the Passo della Scoglina and through the Barbagelata district as part of the Anello del Caucaso. The Passo di Pozzarelli is a mountain pass on an old pack-animal trail that connected Chiavari with Bobbio via Favale. These different trail and landscape connections give your travel planning a variety of focal points, without requiring culture and nature to be considered separately.

Historical traces in districts and landscapes

At Monte Ghirfo, there are archaeological traces of a late-antique settlement; the morphology and documentation of a medieval military settlement have also been recorded there. In Canavissolo, there are Ligurian graves dating from the Iron Age. In Acereto, rural houses stand on a slope and date from the end of the 16th century. In Castello, a rural house on a slope dates from the beginning of the 17th century.

In the historic center of Arena, together with the Chiesetta di Arena, there is a complex of abandoned houses classified as a disused building of landscape value. The Mulino di Nicola is also a notable historical feature: it has been preserved with a bridge featuring a rising arch. Those who choose a holiday apartment or other accommodation in Favale di Malvaro can thereby set their personal focus between mountain trails, religious sites, emigration history and archaeological traces.

Traditions and local specialties

Favale di Malvaro holds the Giornata dell’emigrante every year on the last Sunday in June. At the Festa degli antichi e moderni mestieri, traditional crafts are demonstrated in practice. Local specialties such as minestrone, polenta and testaroli are also offered. This gives culinary and artisan themes their own place alongside the historic sights and trails around Monte Caucaso.

Further places for your travel planning

If you would like to visit other places besides Favale di Malvaro, you can find Nervi, Serra Riccò, Neirone, Cicagna, Rezzoaglio, Montebruno, Bracco and San Colombano here.

For the higher-level travel overview: Genoa.