What is Brugnato known for?

Seat of an independent bishopric for nearly seven centuries, suffragan of Genova, with spiritual authority over the middle and upper Val di Vara. Built on a seventh-century monastery dependent on Bobbio Abbey, founded by Saint Columbanus, the Irish missionary who reached Liguria via Lombardy. Corpus Domini flower-petal carpets along the streets of the centro storico, the only Ligurian commune in the Infioritalia network.

Brugnato is a comune in the province of La Spezia, Liguria region of Italy, about 74 kilometers from Genova.

Liguria · La Spezia

Brugnato

The medieval ecclesiastical capital of the Val di Vara, seat of a diocese from 1133 to 1820, with a co-cathedral built over a Columban monastery.

74 km / 46 mi

Nearest hub (Genova)

1,283

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Why come

Brugnato sitsin the Val di Vara, the broad inland valley that runs from the Apennine ridge down toward the La Spezia coast. The town grew around a seventh-century monastery dependent on Bobbio Abbey and dedicated to Saint Columbanus, the Irish missionary who founded Bobbio in 614. The Concattedrale dei Santi Pietro, Lorenzo e Colombano was rebuilt in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and became the seat of the new Diocese of Brugnato in 1133, suffragan of Genova, with authority over the middle and upper Val di Vara. The bishopric lasted until 1820. The centro storico is laid out on a rare medieval grid for Liguria, with straight lanes of pastel houses and a walled perimeter. Brugnato holds Borghi più belli, Bandiera Arancione, and Infioritalia, the last for the Corpus Domini flower-petal carpets that cover the streets each June.

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Gallery

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Known for

Concattedrale dei Santi Pietro, Lorenzo e Colombano
Co-cathedral built in the eleventh and twelfth centuries over a seventh-century monastery of Bobbio, seat of the Brugnato diocese from 1133 to 1820.
Museo Diocesano
Diocesan museum housed in the former Episcopal Palace next to the cathedral, with sacred art and documents from the long bishopric.
Centro storico
Walled medieval grid of pastel houses, a rare orthogonal layout in Liguria, set on a low rise inside a meander of the Vara river.
Infiorata del Corpus Domini
Carpets of flower petals laid across the streets of the centro storico each Corpus Domini, the basis for the Infioritalia membership.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September into October are the right months in the Val di Vara. The valley turns green in spring, holds its color into early summer, and dries to gold in autumn. Corpus Domini, late May or early June depending on the year, brings the Infiorata to the streets of the centro storico. July and August are warm but bearable inland at 115 meters; the coast and Cinque Terre next door are hotter. November through March is quiet. The Vara runs high. Most osterie shorten their hours. The cathedral and the museum stay open by request.