Situated on the Riviera to the west of Capo Caprazoppa, it was a Byzantine stronghold with the name of Castrum Petrae, perched like an eagles aerie in a picturesque setting on a wild and isolated limestone crag (la Pietra) to the east of the present town. In the twelfth century the castrum passed to the bishop of Albenga, who had it rebuilt, and in 1385 it was sold to Genoa by Pope Urban VII. Recently the fortress has been consolidated and its rooms used to house exhibitions of porcelain, prints and antique furniture. It also contains an extensive library with a bar and restaurant. The oldest of the monuments documenting Pietra Ligures history is the oratory of the Bianchi, dating from the tenth century and now used as an auditorium, located on the characteristic Piazza Vecchia or Piazza del Mercato. It used to be the parish church, dedicated to the towns patron saint, Nicholas, and was restructured in the baroque era. The interior is divided into a nave and two aisles with columns made of local stone. It now houses oil measures from the republic of Genoa and the remains of a medieval well that used to be located in the square in front. The campanile still has the sacred bell that, according to tradition, was rung by the hand of St. Nicholas to announce the end of the outbreak of plague in 1525. The present parish church of San Nicolò dates from the second half of the eighteenth century: the interior, roofed by a fine, frescoed vault, is a huge rectangular space surrounded by chapels of different sizes. It contains a collection of pictures and a wooden choir from the sixteenth century, which used to be in Marseilles Cathedral. In addition to being a popular summer vacation resort, Pietra Ligure is famous for its shipyard and hospital facilities, which include the complex of Santa Corona, a renowned rehabilitation center.

Abruzzo National Park
Agrigento
Alassio
Alassio
Albenga
Albenga
Alberobello
Albisola and Albissola
Alghero
Altare
Amalfi
Ancona
Andora
Aosta
Aquila
Arezzo
Arnasco
Asolo
Assisi
Bagno a Ripoli
Balestrino
Bardineto
Basilicata
Basso Veronese
Bellaria
Bergamo
Bergeggi
Bergeggi park
Boissano
Bologna
Bolzano
Borghetto Santo Spirito
Borgio Verezzi
Bormida
Brescia
Brindisi
Cagliari
Cairo Montenotte
Calenzano
Calice Ligure
Calizzano
Camogli
Campobasso
Capraia e Limite
Capri
Carcare
Carloforte
Casamicciola
Casanova Lerrone
Caserta
Castelbianco
Castelfiorentino
Castelvecchio di Rocca Barbena
Castiglione della Pescaia
Catania
Cattolica
Celle Ligure
Cengio
Ceriale
Ceriale
Cerreto Guidi
Certaldo
Cerveteri
Cervinia
Chiavari
Cisano sul Neva
Civitavecchia
Como
Cortona
Cosenza
Cosseria
Courmayeur
Dego
Empoli
Erli
Ferrara
Fiesole
Figline
Finale Ligure
Finale valley
Fiorenzuola
Florence
Forio
Frascati
Fucecchio
Gallinara park
Gambassi Terme
Gardone
Garlenda
Genoa
Giustenice
Giusvalla
Grado
Greve in Chianti
Gubbio
Herculaneum
Impero valley
Impruneta
Impruneta
Incisa in val d'Arno
Ischia Porto & Ponte
Isernia
La Maddelena
La Spezia
La Spezia
Lago Maggiore
Laigueglia
Lake Bracciano
Lake Vico
Lampedusa
Lavagna
Lazise
Lecce
Lerici
Lessinia
Linosa
Lipari
Loano
Lucca
Magliolo
Mallare
Mantua
Marciana Marina
Marina di Campo
Massimino
Milan
Millesimo
Mioglia
Misano Adriatico
Monreale
Montecatini Terme
Montelupo Fiorentino
Monterosso
Mungivacca
Murialdo
Nasino
Noli
Noto
Nuoro
Olbia
Onzo
Orco Feglino
Oristano
Orta
Ortovero
Orvieto
Osiglia
Ostia Antica
Otranto
Padua
Paestum
Palermo
Pallare
Parco del Cilento
Pavia
Pegli
Perugia
Pesaro
Pescara
Pescasseroli
Peschiera
Piana Crixia
Pienza
Pietra Ligure
Pisa
Plodio
Pompeii
Pompeii
Pontassieve
Pontine islands
Pontinvrea
Porto Cervo
Porto Ferro
Porto Rotondo
Portoferraio
Portofino
Portovenere
Positano
Pratolino
Quiliano
Rapallo
Ravenna
Recco
Rialto
Riccione
Rimini
Riomaggiore
Roccavignale
Salo
San Casciano Val di Pesa
San Gimignano
San Piero a Sieve
SAN SEVERO (71016)
Sanremo
Santa Margherita Ligure
Santa Margherita Ligure
Sassari
Sassello
Saturnia
Scrivia valley
Siena
Siracusa
Sirmione
Sorrento
Stella
Stellanello
Stresa
Stromboli
Su Nuraxi
Subiaco
Sybari's Marine
Taormina
Tarquinia
Tellaro
Termoli
Testico
The Castle above Zuccarello
Tivoli
Toirano
Torsero park
Tovo San Giacomo
Trastevere
Trebbia valley
Tremiti islands
Trento
Trieste
Turin
Tusculum
Udine
Urbe
Vado Ligure
Valpolicella
Vara valley
Varatella valley
Varazze
Vendone
Venice
Ventimiglia
Verona
Vesima
Vezzi Portio
Viareggio
Vicenza
Villanova d'Albenga
Vinci
Viterbo
Vulcano