Liguria · Imperia
Perinaldo
A ridge village at 572 meters, birthplace of Giovanni Domenico Cassini and home to a working astronomical observatory in his name.
- Best time
- Apr–Oct
- By car
- 2 h 12 min from Genoa
- Population
- 829
Known for
CASSINI
Giovanni Domenico Cassini, born here in 1625, mapped four moons of Saturn and gave his name to the Cassini Division in its rings.
OSSERVATORIO
Working municipal astronomical observatory in the town hall, with regular evening sessions and a dedicated educational program.
OLIO TAGGIASCO
Taggiasca olive oil from the terraces below the ridge, the basis for the Città dell'Olio membership.
When to visit
Best · Apr–Oct
- J10°
- F12°
- M13°
- A15°
- M19°
- J23°
- J26°
- A27°
- S23°
- O19°
- N14°
- D11°
- Best
- Hot or crowded
- Quiet
- Mostly closed
Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.
Why come
Perinaldo sits seven kilometers inland from Bordighera and the French border, on a ridge above the Val Nervia. The medieval centro storico is built in concentric rings around the old castle, a compact plan that ties church, castle, and town hall together within a short walk of each other.
The astronomer left for Bologna and then for the court of Louis XIV in Paris, where he directed the new Royal Observatory. He did not return, but he sent a canvas back to the Suffragio altar of the parish church in 1672, and the meridian his calculations helped fix is still marked on the sundial of the smaller church on the ridge. The terraces below the village grow Taggiasca olives, the basis of its Città dell'Olio standing. Perinaldo also holds Borghi più belli and Bandiera Arancione recognition.
The village's shape, ring upon ring around a single high point, mirrors the way its history keeps circling back to one native mind that left for Paris and never stopped sending word home.
The Sunday letter
Perinaldo is on our list. Its letter is still to come.
We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Perinaldo comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.
Read on
Perinaldo in our articles
The best hill towns in the province of Imperia6 towns, Perinaldo among them.
The best olive oil towns in the province of Imperia9 towns, Perinaldo among them.
The prettiest small villages in the province of Imperia9 towns, Perinaldo among them.
Balcony towns: high villages above the Ligurian sea10 towns, Perinaldo among them.
How to get there
From Genoa (GOA), about 2 hours by car.
Turin (TRN) is about 3h 23m away.
By car from the centre of Milan 3h 30m.
What to see
Osservatorio Astronomico G. D. Cassini
A dome rises from the inner courtyard of the town hall. On observation evenings the working instrument inside is put to the same sky Cassini once charted from far greater distance, in Paris.
Chiesa di San Nicola da Bari
Parish church built in 1489, holding a fifteenth-century wooden crucifix and, on the Suffragio altar, a canvas sent back from Paris by its most famous native son.
Chiesa della Visitazione
Smaller church on the ridge, fitted with a meridian sundial calibrated using the astronomical methods developed by the town's native astronomer.
Castello dei Conti Maraldi
Old village castle at the heart of the medieval centro storico, its houses arranged in concentric rings on the ridge, the site where Cassini was born in 1625.
Belvedere
Ridge viewpoint with sightlines down the Val Nervia to the sea and north into the Alpi Liguri toward Mount Toraggio.
The slow-trip planner
Building a trip? Find where Perinaldo fits in a slow Italy circuit.
Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.
Living here
- Population 829
- In-betweeni
- Pharmacy in town
- High school within a 30-minute drive
- Nearest airport Genoa, 2 h 7 min drive
- Regional capital Genova, 2 h 12 min drive
Common questions
- What is Perinaldo known for?
- Perinaldo is a ridge village at 572 meters, birthplace of Giovanni Domenico Cassini and home to a working astronomical observatory in his name.
- Where is Perinaldo?
- Perinaldo is a comune in the province of Imperia, in Liguria.
- What is the nearest airport to Perinaldo?
- Genoa (GOA), about 2 hours by car.
- How long is the drive from Milan to Perinaldo?
- About 3h 30m by car.
- When is the best time to visit Perinaldo?
- Best in Apr–Oct. August is the warmest month, averaging 27 degrees, and May the wettest, with about 15 rain days.
- Which other towns are like Perinaldo?
- Seborga, Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena and Garbagna.
- How many people live in Perinaldo?
- 829 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources
The numbers
- Elevation: 572 m
- Population: 829
- Surface area: 20.3 km²
These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.
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