Liguria · Savona
Laigueglia
A former coral-fishing village on the Riviera di Ponente, with a curved Baroque parish church and a fishermen's grid of caruggi behind the beach.
Known for
CORAL FISHERY
Seventeenth-century economy ran on coral fished off Corsica and Sardinia, drawing Catalan settlers and funding the Baroque churches.
BANDIERA BLU BEACH
Sheltered sandy litoraneo between Capo Mele and Capo Santa Croce, awarded for water quality and management.
CHIESA DI SAN MATTEO
Eighteenth-century Baroque parish church with a curved façade and altarpieces by Strozzi, Castellino Castello and De Ferrari.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
The festa: Matteo, 21 September
Why come
Laigueglia sits at six meters on the Riviera di Ponente, sheltered between the two headlands that frame the bay. The name comes from Aquilia, a reference to the Roman eagle standards, and the village grew from a settlement of fishermen who came over from neighboring Andora. Genoa bought the borough in 1609.
Through the seventeenth century the economy ran on shipbuilding and the coral trade, which drew Catalan fishermen to settle in numbers and left behind the Baroque churches that anchor the centro storico today: the parish church with its curved front, and the confraternity oratory with its carved choir and Piola altarpiece. Behind the beach, the fishermen's grid still reads as caruggi, small squares opening to the sea, houses in pale violet and ochre, the seafront watchtowers standing at the edge where the town once kept watch for raiders by sea. What the coral money built, the town has simply gone on living inside.
The Sunday letter
We haven’t written Laigueglia’s letter yet.
One town every Sunday, with the photo, the food, the festa. Be there when this one comes up. Free, by Peter & Sophia from Pietrasanta.
What to see
Chiesa di San Matteo
The curved façade fronts a Baroque interior where the three altarpieces hang alongside furnishings paid for in the coral years, when the parish stood as the visible return on the fishery's money.
Oratorio di Santa Maria Maddalena
1616 oratory of the Confraternita dei Disciplinanti, with a carved wooden choir and an altarpiece by Domenico Piola.
Centro storico
Fishermen's grid of caruggi behind the beachfront, with houses painted in the pale lilac and ochre traditional to the Ponente coast.
Litorale di Laigueglia
Sandy beachfront awarded the Bandiera Blu in 2025, sheltered between Capo Mele and Capo Santa Croce.
Torri saracene
Sixteenth-century watchtowers on the seafront, built to spot Saracen and Barbary ships before they could land.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Laigueglia fits in a slow Italy circuit.
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We recommend
Where to eat
Not our picks, but places the guides put their name to: a Michelin star, a Gambero Rosso fork, a Slow Food snail, a Michelin Key for the hotels. Worth a table, a counter, or a night when you pass through.
SavôRistorante
Savô holds a Gambero Rosso listing and a spot in the Michelin Guide.
Through the year
What happens here
Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.
Il Salto Dell'Acciugafood festival
usually held in October. Eventi Autentici Liguri (UNPLI Liguria calendar)
Living here
- Population 1,705
- Commuter belti
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Train station in the comune
- Nearest airport Genoa, 1 h 20 min drive
- Regional capital Genova, 1 h 25 min drive
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
Recognised as
The numbers
- Elevation: 6 m
- Population: 1,705
- Surface area: 2.72 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories — ISTAT, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata — and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
Close by
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