What is Campo Ligure known for?

Gold and silver thread twisted with pliers called bruscelle and welded under torch, the first workshop opened 1884, the only surviving Italian centre. Hexagonal medieval fortress with a 22-metre cylindrical tower, residence of the Spinola counts who controlled the Stura valley trade route. Founded 1984 around the Pietro Carlo Bosio collection, filigree pieces from across five continents in a single ground-floor exhibition.

Where is Campo Ligure?

Campo Ligure is a comune in the province of Genova, Liguria region of Italy, about 39 kilometers from Genova.

Liguria · Genova

Campo Ligure

A Spinola borgoin the Stura valley north of Genova, the last working centre for gold and silver filigree in Italy.

39 km / 24 mi

Nearest hub (Genova)

2,777

Population

Apr–Oct

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Campo Ligure sits on the right bank of the Stura, twenty-five kilometers north of Genoa where the Apennines start to climb. The Spinola family took the fief in the thirteenth century and built the hexagonal castle on the hill above the village; the cylindrical tower is more than twenty-two metres tall and six across. The first filigree workshop opened in 1884. Within a generation Campo Ligure had become the national centre for the craft, fine gold and silver threads twisted with pliers called bruscelle and welded under a torch. It remains the only working filigree centre in Italy. The Museo della Filigrana, founded in 1984 around the Pietro Carlo Bosio collection, holds filigree work from across the world. A medieval stone bridge over the Stura, originally ninth-century and rebuilt several times from the eighteenth century onward, anchors the lower end of the borgo.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello Spinola
Twelfth and thirteenth-century hexagonal fortress on the hill above the village, cylindrical tower 22 metres tall, residence of the Spinola fief.
Museo della Filigrana Pietro Carlo Bosio
Founded 1984 around the Bosio collection, filigree work from across the world, the only museum of its kind in Italy.
Ponte medievale sullo Stura
Stone bridge over the Stura with ninth-century origins, rebuilt several times from the eighteenth century, marks the southern entrance to the borgo.
Chiesa della Natività di Maria Santissima
Eighteenth-century parish church in Baroque style on the main piazza, frescoes by Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, marble altar from Carrara.
Centro storico di Campo Ligure
Tight grid of three parallel medieval streets along the river, filigree workshops still operating between residential houses.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Oct

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

May through October is the working window: the Stura runs clear, the trail network up into the Parco del Beigua opens, the filigree workshops keep their doors open for visitors. The Mostra della Filigrana in late August is the year's main draw, three days of open studios and demonstrations. July and August can touch 30 degrees in the valley but the 342-metre elevation keeps evenings cool. November through March is quiet. Fog from the Po side regularly fills the Stura valley and reaches the village around midday. Workshops still operate but on appointment. The road from Genoa over the Passo del Turchino stays open year-round.